Love
by WishMaker7
Summary: "Please… for me, my sweet, please try to act as patient and understanding as you are with me, with them, okay?" And here, Roxas chuckled to himself, amused at the three words he was to produce. "Get it memorized." …It was hard to know that that would be the last time he and I would be together so closely. AkuRoku, Marlexion, XigDem. T for language. R&Rs appreciated. Complete.
1. Chapter I: Suspicions

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N:** This is my first real story that exceeds 30 000 words (so I can honestly say it's my first real story)! I had a lot of fun writing this (which I hope is not creepy as the story rolls on) and I hope you'll find it just as enjoyable to read!

I couldn't fit this on the summary page (damned character limit), but this is a spoiler to games all across the board, especially 358/2 Days and Birth by Sleep.

Be sure to review/comment on it 'cause it's the only way I can tell you're reading! ^^

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**Chapter I: Suspicions**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 722_

Cerulean locks flaking away the sweat of nerves, the scarred Nobody trudged up the unfamiliar marble stairs, looking for some way—somehow in this seemingly secretive route to the top of this winding clock tower—to find level ground, and soon, as the man realized that the navigating space was growing narrow. As soon as the man had hoped, he found himself on an ever-widening rut, as well as eavesdropping on another's conversation; ears soon befell a nostalgic sound only familiarized in the recollection of times long past. Those were times when the man could truly say he could 'feel.' Now, he questions every reasoning behind the emotions that humans display each day subconsciously. That nostalgic sound… it was that of tears.

"Look, Roxas, it's okay. Just tell me what happened." The man heard a slightly low-pitched voice. One that he knew too daringly well. Saïx gulped at the thought of who the face holding this voice could be.

"I… I can't… I-I-I don't know what to think myself… I'm sorry…" This higher-pitched voice gasped at every interval to gather air for further tears. This voice was familiar; however, it was not recognizable. The scarred male had a chilling assumption of who the voice belonged to, though, as he readied his ears for further information.

"No, no. It's alright. I'll be here as long as you need me." It was here that the Luna Diviner found himself peering closer to the sound, only wishing to know of the faces speaking in such a place that was certainly off-limits, and subject matter that would produce such impossible tears from a Nobody. Yet a chill crept from his spine of his accurate assumption of whom these two actually were. He allowed himself to move but an inch, and this was all the man needed to unfold the scene before him.

There lay Number Thirteen, eyes awash with tears, form crumpled in distress, disallowing any section of his clothed skin to touch the condemn of the marble—only the drape of his cloak daring to envelope the platform—his whole body tucked into Number Eight. The redheaded teen's arms were wrapped securely yet snugly around its distraught friend, one black hand smoothing through plush gold. His emerald eyes darted to a side after this step was placed, hardening into a forest green in defense, but as his companion did not seem to notice, he didn't allow his suspicions to bother them. "Axel… I can't… I… okay. I'll… I-I-I think I can tell you… if I can think for a minute…" The boy's thoughts were obviously askew, unable to make a coherent thought—the tormenting memories assaulting him—as the child wiped his eyes of the tears that did not cease to flow from it. He sighed, trying to process the disarrayed cogitations into a workable sentence.

"That's alright, Rox. All the time you need, and some that ya don't, just in case ya need me and think you don't." This drew a chuckle of amusement from the Key. "Now there's a smile." Axel brushed his nose through the golden locks of the friend below him. He realized that the actions displayed were… abnormal for friends, so why was he so content with doing them? "Just… tell me what's been biting you, alright?" The golden blonde teen could hear his friend drone, not paying very much attention to his lackadaisical form of speaking.

The fiery redhead's thoughts were interrupted when Roxas spoke once more. "Well," The boy's voice began to gain a bit of momentum, his tears now dried up in the warmth of his companion. "My mission was in Destiny Islands today, if you didn't know," The fiery friend's arms wrapped protectively around him, the feeling Nobody became comfortable in speaking of his troubles, always keeping an eye as his friend smiled and winced appropriately as he spoke. "And, yeah. Riku made me feel like… like I had no purpose."

"And that's where he's wrong. You have one of the most important jobs around here, buddy. You collect hearts. Without you, there'd be no purpose in all of us. We… well, we'd be no closer to getting our own hearts than before you arrived. It'd be hopeless. There'd be no use." The redhead's cloaked hand swept a stray drop from the azure sea in Roxas's eyes.

"I… I guess so…" Roxas muttered in a melancholy tone. He tucked himself away closer to Axel's chest with a sniffle.

"Whadda ya mean, 'I guess so?' You're the most important member here, Rox! Without you, we'd just be twelve people in over our heads with an unachievable goal. It'd just be a dream. With you, we can make it all possible." Axel grinned, his arms outstretched towards the everlasting sunset ahead. "With you, Roxas," He substituted the sun as the Kingdom Heart before him. "We can finally achieve Kingdom Hearts… we don't need to worry about fading into oblivion. We can be ourselves and we can finally have lives of our own…!"

"But—well, yeah, I understand you—But Riku made me feel like… just the way he described it all… I felt so… so useless." Roxas no longer held any anguish as he spoke; he simply wanted to express his feelings from the ordeal.

Axel stroked through his friend's golden locks. "It's alright, Roxas. You'll be alright. Just remember how important you are. And why'd you wanna believe him, anyway? He's a jerk. He's the enemy. You're not supposed to believe him; he's only there to put you down." Axel's words sang warmly from his lips as he caressed his friend, shielding him from the evils that lurked just beyond the rut.

Somehow, the Diviner knew, this action that the Flurry of Dancing Flames was displaying was… abnormal. It seemed to be lesser that of a friend and that of something… more. To whatever extent of the cerulean-haired eavesdropper's knowledge, this display rang foreign in his eyes. There was nothing that the man observed that could not be classified. It was… strange. _How will I explain this to the others? What will I tell them?_ The man tried desperately to understand this display. True, he had seen it before in one of the movies that he had stolen from Number Twelve, but in that case, it was not that sort of inexplicable feelings displayed between two men, but rather a man and a woman; there, the two's feelings were equally shared. Here, it seemed like Number Thirteen was oblivious to Number Eight's actions.

The boy sniffled dryly for what would be the last time. "Th-Thanks, Axel. You're a good friend, you know that?" He sank himself further into the warmth of his friend's chest, sighing contently as he did so. "And you know how to be a human furnace."

Emerald eyes darted out towards the everlasting sunset, nerve forcing them away from the golden locks that tickled his chin just underneath. "A good friend, huh? And here I thought I was your best friend." The man, although seemingly normal in his enthusiasm, chuckled tensely. Saïx realized… these words _pained _him. The fact that Number Thirteen simply called him a 'good friend' and not something more was what upset him, it seemed.

"Well, you _are_ my best friend, Axe, but I didn't really feel that I had to say all that…" He could hear Roxas muttered, slightly upset, from the muffled confides of Axel's cloak. Saïx felt he had to expose the two for who they really were. He had to expose their… 'romance?' was the word? He allowed himself but another footstep, allowing it to be all but enough. Unfamiliar noise entered the redhead's ears, forcing apprehension as he tightened his grip around his friend. Being all but strangled in Axel's protective grip, Roxas was forced to ask, a hint of tension himself in his voice, "Something wrong, Axel?"

His head craned to the side, exposing himself to the backside wall. This sound, that single sound that caught in his ears, it was undeniable; three words ghosted from his lips, only readable by his partner. "We're being watched."

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"It has come to my attention…" The cerulean-haired Nobody was not facing the others, eyes targeting the Kingdom Heart just beyond his reach. Just beyond his hopes and dreams was the victory that each one of the thirteen members wished for. All, it seems, except his once-closest friend who, in all irony, was one of the only two that did not make himself present. The man stood there, awaiting the moment where Number Twelve would cease to speak and allow him the chance to, and in his silence he hoped to achieve this. When the time came that it _still_ did not work, "that Numbers Nine and Twelve should cease all of this incessant bantering so that I may continue, please?" It was here that the two chatter birds finally realized their place. "So, as you are all very much aware, two of us are not present." All expected the superior to force haste, yet he remained complaisant. "It is only a coincidence, and yet therein lies our problem. These two have become… close."

After a moment of silence contemplating those departed, it was the platinum blonde British accent that spoke up among the chatter. "And what do you suppose that means?"

The Luna Diviner could hold back his anger no more. The simple thought of this friendship growing so strong—beyond the contemplation of the untrained unfeeling as the Organization—drove the man mad, burning the fuel of his temper, now quick and hot in irritation. "They're friends! Chums! 'Buddies!' What else would you like me to say?"

"Oh… well then, I had thought you'd meant something _else_."

"What? That they could feel _that_? Hah. Don't even make me laugh." The man scoffed curtly. "It is simply that they've begun to spend an excessive amount of time with one another, and I had made the time to investigate this further. It has come to my attention that they are very close to one another. There was a moment where I was to intervene, but as I moved closer, the sound of my soles made their way to Number Eight's ears, and he became very defensive indeed. He told Number Thirteen to keep his voice down and instantly moved about, keeping a watchful eye over him. There was a sense of… protection, yes, and something more that I've begun to develop as friendship."

This seemed to amuse the Savage Nymph. "Hah! So what does that mean?" She discourteously sneered, "They have feelings for one another? Like you said, Saïx, we shouldn't make you laugh!"

"Well, there is the presence of feeling in Number Thirteen. This I am aware of." And this information fell the Round Room to silence, all eyes now watching the man in cerulean as he explained, "He holds the damaged heart of another. This heart  
is not complete, still forcing him as one of us, and yet it is enough to make him _feel_. As you're all aware of, I'm sure, Number Thirteen's presence invokes something… strange in all of us when exposed for extended periods of time. This is because you are being exposed to the true feelings that this heart releases. Now it has come to my attention that Number Eight, having attached himself to Number Thirteen, has had an excessively extended exposure—"

"Try saying that five times fast…" Saïx could hear Number Nine snicker, yet ignored it.

"—to this emotion. This has caused him to feel a great amount when he is around Number Thirteen, and it appears he has retained some of this emotion… to some extent. This is a very troubling topic, and if nothing is done, our way to Kingdom Hearts will be all but achievable. Something must be done."

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**A/N: **So... this is my introduction to 'Love!' I really don't know how I did, so I'm hoping you can tell this poor girl...

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	2. Chapter II: Inexplicable Feelings

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N: **Behold! Before you, I have my favorite chapter that I have written so far! *Gush* I love this chapter to death so far... probably gonna like the final chapter more though...

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**Chapter II: Inexplicable Feelings**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 723_

As always, the redhead navigated around the narrow pathway winding up the clock tower station, his two hands tightly gripping the ever-familiar popsicles now with uncertainty and tension, white blushing from his knuckles tucked underneath the veil of black. What was this feeling that he was experiencing now? This foreign nervousness that now reared its hideous head and drifted him from his best friend? Now, this new overcoming allowed itself to make Roxas out to be… something unforgivably… _lovely_. The man paused himself. _L-Lovely…? Roxas isn't—! Is… Is he…? But why here? Why now? Why am I feeling like this _now_? Why hadn't it happened anytime earlier? _Emerald eyes fixed on a peculiar crack in the marble to avoid his friend's eye, the redheaded teen sat down with nothing but a hollow "Hey," and a silent pass of the popsicle, biting into his own thoughtlessly, his mind focused elsewhere as he stared blankly the everlasting sunset ahead.

Roxas was nibbling away at his own, but couldn't help but feel a bit odd himself. The friend before him was off; his usually bright personality askew and replaced with an empty sort of wondering. He must have been thinking very deeply. Besides his ocean eyes darting to catch his friend's crystalline emerald, the shorter male made no attempt to engage his elder friend, blaming the lack of enthusiasm on the redhead's recent mission. Time passed and not a single word was spoken, the silence surpassed only marginally with the occasional bite of the popsicle. The quietness was maddening just beyond the azure corneas of the younger teen. The simple thought of a mission not-so-well-done being bombarded by the possibility of so many other pains, most of which included a newly sour outlook on the golden-locked teen himself. _Had I done something wrong yesterday? What did I do wrong?_ Always one to self-inflict pain, the boy diluted himself in the sheer thought of Axel's noiselessness seemingly proving to be the proof of the drifting of a failing friendship. The emptiness visible in Axel's face he could take no more; Roxas _had_ to know the reasoning behind his close friend's screaming silence, whether the truth was unbearable or not. "Axel, please! Please say _something_! Just speak! What's wrong, Axel? What's wrong?" The golden blonde teen cried, allowing all of his mild insanity to slip out with his pleas.

"Hm? What?" Axel regained his senses, and unconsciously turned an eye to his concerned friend, only to be enamored by the sheer beauty of the sunlight casting a glisten off of the oceanic ornaments affixed in Roxas's eye sockets; the distraught confusion contorting the smooth skin on his flawless face only began to dizzy the abashed redhead. He could no longer hold Roxas's eye contact. "I-I'm sorry… nothing's wrong, Rox." The man obviously lied, his emerald eyes sharpening in a shocked sort of trepidation as he desperately focused his eye contact on that crack again, as to avoid Roxas's resplendent features.

The man's hand made its way to unconsciously wave the Key away, as to accede himself alone with his thoughts, but the boy couldn't take this newly distant Axel any longer; his arm swiftly darted out towards the wayward hand, gripping the wrist in a stubborn tight. He would not be shooed away. "Axel, you're gonna tell me what's wrong, and you're gonna say it now; ten words or less."

With a bite of the lip, the redheaded teen found he could no longer hide his problems away from Roxas. The golden-haired boy knew Axel's mannerisms too well for his own good. He could no longer stash away this nagging, sickening feeling he was experiencing now at the simple sight of his once-permissible friend. He drew in a sharp breath and broke his wrist free from the prison of the younger teen's pale hand, settling his own flushed hand on his kneecap, thought provoking silence in the man once more. He allowed himself to turn towards the concerned, yet radiant teen, although he disallowed himself to join Roxas's desperate eye contact, his own eyes set low as his head drooped, gazing fruitlessly at the mortar between the marble bricks. "Ten words or less, huh?" Without meeting the gaze of the angelic character before him, this is what the Flurry of Dancing Flames muttered. "Fine," Finally, after an eternity's wait, Axel's neck torturously lifted his eyesight off of the mortar between the marble bricks, his emerald eyes, now a soft kelly green, finally met Roxas's sharp, perturbed gaze; the man's heart was bewitched by the acute worry in the oceans of his eyes. His body no longer took orders from his mind; a cloaked hand entwined the back of Roxas's head, forcing him closer as Axel's lips parted and met the unsuspecting, plush lips of his beloved.

The primarily shocked teen now began to allow himself to melt into the form of the redhead, his body overwhelmed with pleasure and understanding. This is the feeling he had experienced the day before. This is why he forced himself onto Axel when he needed such comfort. This is why he tucked himself into the confides of the redhead's chest. It wasn't the mutual feeling of two friends… it was _more_. _I love him._ And the moment those words made themselves clear to him, Roxas no longer fought against the boorish tempt of affection; he embraced it, wrapping his thin arms around the neckline of his now-beloved, moving his frigid lips along the warmth of Axel's, attempting to absorb as much heat as possible, now finally able to feel the ceaseless flame of passion that burned in his lover's heart, only a fragment warming his lips as they explored the territory of one-another—and this time, it was that of one the redheaded teen loved dearly. The heat of arousal began to die down in the two—sheer passion now tame—and Roxas nestled himself into the snug confides of Axel's chest, now sharing the territory with his special one.

"Alright Roxas, ten words or less: 'I think I'm in love with you.' " The man chuckled, unaware of Roxas's comfort in the nestles of his chest, forcing nerve to whimper from his lips as he spoke. "But… it's stupid, eh?" Worry sharpened the eyes of the boy just beneath the speaking chin. "I mean, I'm a Nobody, Roxas. We can't feel, right? That… That was just me being stupid."

"Axel…" Roxas moaned softly, unable to understand the shift in his emotion. As if Roxas had not already explained his affection for the older male with his kiss, he was now snuggled between the arms of this man that he loved and yet it seemed that the redhead was still defensive. He felt that Roxas had not shared his affection, and now was… seemingly apologizing! "It's okay. I… I don't exactly know what to say—"

"I get it, Rox. It was different and it wasn't rational on my part. I didn't, y'know, ask you if you wanted it in advance. I didn't have any logic behind it. I-I'm sorry."

"Axel, no, you don't understand—!" Roxas knew his dazed form of explanation would serve no use. His mind was too far gone to make a coherent, logical sentence to inform the man of his received affection. There had to be a simpler way to do so! The golden blonde found there to be no other choice. His thin, pale arms took the flushed cheeks of his redheaded friend and pulled his lips to his own, reigniting the passion Axel shared with him. Axel's eyelids fluttered shut, surrendering himself momentarily to the younger male with a new sort of understanding as the kiss itself began to warm the redhead inside, aiding him in returning the kiss with a renewed vigor of a mutual bond now tying the two in their intimacy. He began to dominate the smaller teen in their kissing, eventually toppling him over onto the marble balcony. "A-Axel… I think we need to stop," The golden blonde's lips danced around Axel's as he spoke. "I'm gonna fall off…"

The man, although reluctant, finally lifted himself from his paler partner. "S-Sorry, sweetheart… I didn't mean to…" His hand scratched through the back of his head, his eyes avoided Roxas's in an attempt to evade further embarrassment. Although his blushed embarrassment resonated from a lack of knowledge pertaining to relationships as a whole, the seemingly insignificant, endearing word, 'sweetheart,' seemed to brush from his lips seamlessly. And, it appeared, Roxas liked this and, just so, did Axel.

Roxas's small arm darted out once more and coaxed the flushed redhead back onto his form, placing Axel's cloaked hand on Roxas's chest. "N-No… stay… just don't be so rough."

"S-Stay…?" Axel's fingers spread themselves onto the chest of his now-beloved, worrying their way cautiously around their new territory. "But Roxas, you don't want to, y'know—"

The boy hushed him, resting a single ebony finger over the redhead's overworked lips. "I don't want that. I won't want that for a while, Axel. But that doesn't mean that… that I want you to push away." His eyes fluttered dreamily as the other arm made its way to stroke his cheek. "I want you to stay with me," Said arm wrapped around the red spikes behind Axel's head, bringing it closer, inviting it onto his chest. "It's just the two of us, after all. And like you said, Axe, you love me, don'tcha?" Axel was reluctantly stiff as Roxas beckoned him onto such new terrain, but eventually was overwhelmed by the warmth emanating from the golden blonde's chest, and felt he was content with letting Roxas do whatever he pleased. The redhead relaxed onto Roxas's form, a flushed arm creeping out to stroke his golden locks. "I'm yours now, Axel. I need you to understand that."

"Wh-Whadda you mean?"

"I… I belong to you now. I love you, Axel, and I'm yours and yours alone." The younger teen's breath ghosted warmly along Axel's forehead, some heat escaping into the confides of his crimson locks. "If I wasn't, then… then that's like saying I'd be allowed to love you, then be able to love Demyx, or something, and that's not right. I love only you, Axel, and if I had a heart, I'd give it to you. So, metaphorically speaking, can you take care of my heart, if I metaphorically give it to you?"

Axel couldn't help himself anymore; his laughter escaped him. "Oh, of course! Metaphorically speaking."

This produced chuckles from the younger male. "But Axel, really. If I gave you my heart, will you keep it safe?"

Axel smiled sincerely, bent his head up and pecked his lover along the jaw. "Of course I would." His lips danced their way lightly down Roxas's neckline until they met the black cloth, then rested his head onto the blonde's chest. "Of course I would."

…Just beyond the comforts of the now-lovers, a silvery-locked spy nestled himself along the darkness.

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**A/N:** Like I said, my favorite of all chapters (that I've written!) so far. Took me a while to get the emotion just right, and even then, I'm no expert, so I'd like _you_ to tell me how I did!

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	3. Chapter III: The Heart Amongst Thieves

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N:** Ugh... short chapter... I really wanted to expand this chapter... but so much happened over such little time... and so much _more_ happens in the next chapter that I had to make a cut-off to this stream... Hope you like it and hate it—the way you should!

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**Chapter III: The Heart Amongst Thieves**

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"I… I simply just don't like the fact that you made me do such a thing!" Zexion growled, his voice resonating much louder than its usual volume to allow access to the higher members above him. "It wasn't fair…" The images that the teen saw before him—the innocent ritual of love—how was it that such a simple reconnaissance mission would lead to the exposure of two Nobodies, seemingly lost in a world of unfeeling, now dancing in the heat of romance? This thought troubled the sixth Nobody; and yet it was the command to spy on such an event that rang in his nonexistent heart more disturbing.

"And why should you care, Number Six?" Saïx asked bluntly. "I sent you on that mission, and it was your job to get it done. You want to be somebody again, don't you Ienzo?"

The silvery male grunted, turning himself away from his superiors. "Well… y-yes…" The words slipped painfully from his lips; he did not want his superiors to know that they had, indeed, hit a nerve. His simple life as the young boy raised by Even, now a fleeting memory—a sickeningly pleasant one at that. To know that the life that he had once lived was now a shattered reminiscence before him, the thought alone brought a crippling pain to the mind of the Schemer.

"Then there you go. I know that the display that you witness must have been… _warm_, but what I said must be done." Saïx's words bore an icy chill; his expression cold to match. His words, though inexplicably cruel in the gray eyes of the silver-headed illusionist, were absolute.

He could take these words no longer. This young man had witnessed the true beauty of a quiet romance, and was now forced to submit to the words of a man willing to tear it all apart? "You… You foul man! You disguised it, didn't you? You never allowed me to know that it was, in fact, Roxas and Axel you forced me to spy on!" He cried.

"And what's your point? _My_ point was that this relationship must be stopped. In order for us to obtain hearts, Number Thirteen must be focused. Number Eight is halting that quite efficiently." The ice chilling Saïx's voice did not cease as it delivered its blatancy, adding the dizzying atmosphere of gravity.

"You never told me they would love each other!" Zexion cried, unable to withstand any more venom being spewed against the innocence of the two he had betrayed.

The residing two in the Round Room froze and for once in his heartless life, Xemnas was lost for words. "Wh-What did you say…?"

"I… I won't speak of this anymore!" The man turned to leave, as he would no longer play puppet to the two cruel men's schemes.

"No! Damnit, no! You will stay as you are, Number Six!" And it was here that Saïx threw himself from his seat in the Round Room, summoning the soft, ivory light of the Kingdom Heart before him to his palm. With a flash, his beloved claymore, Lunatic, appeared as the man gripped it masterfully, immediately threatening the Cloaked Schemer. "To ask for that innocent, parentless child would be all too much, wouldn't it Ienzo?" The man mused, a curl to his cruel grin.

"Don't… Don't you dare speak that name anymore…!" Zexion shrieked, the crippling reminiscence making itself all too clear as the Diviner spoke. Enraged, the silvery-locked male readied his lexicon to create a copy of Saïx's weapon.

"And yet, you still manage to fall so innocent; protecting a loving relationship with silence." The cerulean-haired man readied his weapon at the cloaked teen. It was here that he was able to notice the teen's attempt of exploiting his abilities. The cerulean-locked male chuckled. "Oh no, no, no. You see, child, that will not work on me. And… even if you were to, do you really think you could haul that impressive claymore?" Saïx utilized the teen's calculating mind and turned it against him. As Zexion was forced to think for a brief moment, the Diviner knocked the boy off his feet with the flat of his weapon, readying the deadly end at the silvery-locked teen's throat. Forcing Number Six into a calculating situation; his greatest asset and greatest weakness. "And unless you want that same claymore to drive you to oblivion, you'll tell me more about 'them.' "

Zexion growled, then heaved a great sigh, defeated. "There is no winning with you, is there Saïx? Fine…" As the teen spoke, his voice flattened, now realizing that it was spewing the sacred secrets of the innocent beauty of the romance it witnessed. "They were… well, Axel was acting a bit… off, as you may say. He was quiet, and disallowed much movement. He displayed such actions in Castle Oblivion; it meant he was in a deep thought process. After much silence, Roxas began to worry. He cried out 'Please tell me something! Speak, Axel, speak!' or something to that extent, and Axel… he… he kissed him." Zexion averted the superiors' eyes, now ashamed after sullying his friendship's trust due to the voices of blackmail and corruption. This was visible in his one exposed, slate-colored eye; the other, hidden eye matched its pair's expression: shame and horror. "Afterwards, Axel tried to apologize, feeling that Roxas didn't return his feelings… then the boy kissed him back, then they shared a few hours in their intimacy, talking about each other's missions and what not."

"They… They didn't notice you?"

The Schemer sighed, realizing the true nature of the details of his mission. "I… I did as you said. I 'hid amongst the darkness,' just as you'd instructed, Saïx. I… I never knew that it would lead to this…!" The teen's collected rage began to boil, but, being the calculating Nobody that he is, released it gradually. "And to threaten _my_ life as well as theirs! It's barbaric, you hideous excuse of a—"

"Good, Number Six." The Diviner would not allow the silvery-locked pawn before him banter such uselessness. "I thank you for this new information. Now I know not to let Number Thirteen slip by." The cerulean-haired Nobody was not facing the others, eyes targeting the Kingdom Heart just beyond his reach. Just beyond his hopes and dreams was the victory that each one of the thirteen members wished for. He chuckled darkly, his intentions averted to the scheming teen before him.

"Wh-What do you mean by that?" Zexion's eyes were wide with anticipated horror. In his mind, he knew of the punishment that the two were to receive for his betrayal to them, more likely Roxas than Axel. He could feel a sickening in the pit of his stomach as he envisioned the torture Roxas would be forced to endure from the two cruel men standing before him.

It was the Superior who was to speak now. "I'll have you leave now, Number Six."

"B-But—!"

"Now!" And with that, the Superior forced a dark corridor around the teen, transporting him to wherever he pleased. "And until this operation is over, I'll see to it that you stay there." He now turned to his moonlit partner. "So Saïx, what is this plan of yours again…?"

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**A/N: **Like I said, you should kinda hate this chapter for what it's worth. I hope I made you hate it, or at least who's in it! But I wouldn't know, so as I always say...

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	4. Chapter IV: His Final Moments

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N: **One thing I learned is that too many irreversible factors can happen in very little time. This has been proven with the previous chapter, and now with this one. I'm hoping that I can expand my later chapters, 'cause—I promise!—the chapters will get more detailed and more things will happen!

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Chapter IV: His Final Moments

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1152_

"Vexen," Saïx's voice bore authority the moment he stepped from the shadows of the dark corridor, the metallic walls of his laboratory echoing the voice across the chrome scape. "I have confirmed it with the Superior. This is the plan that we are going to use… the operation is, indeed, today. He and I checked it over many a time, and finally, after a year's contemplation, this is the most foolproof of the plans, and this is as better of a time as any."

The scientist grinned upon his superior's entrance, the tips of his fingers lightly meeting one-another. He rested his magenta potion—that he and he alone knew the use for—on the countertop before him, finally turning towards his superior once he knew that the chemical would not rupture in its beaker. "Ah yes, Saïx, so good of us to finally meet as you asked."

The cerulean-haired Diviner resumed his speech. "Do you have everything prepared like I asked of you? Have you been practicing those abilities that inhibited us just the year before?" His arms were folded behind his back, expectation casting a glare to his eyes, anticipation cascading a bead of sweat and shimmering a light sheen across his forehead.

There was a maniacal grin stretched across Vexen's face, his true mad scientist's mind awakening with the agenda of the operation to be at hand. "Oh yes, of course I have been practicing. I shan't boast, but I could dare to call myself an expert. Ooh, yes and I have _everything_ prepared, just as you asked, Saïx." He rubbed his hands together, snickering evilly as he did so. "Is our… _patient_ ready?"

Finally, this brought a cruel grin across Saïx's face. "Oh-ho. He is ready whenever we'd like him to be." It was only these three people (only the Superior not making himself present, for his duties prevented it) that were the keepers of such knowledge as to what was about to unfold.

"Then let's not waste any time in getting him here, shall we?" Vexen's fingers were urging use, keening for the chance to experiment once more.

"Fine, but I'll need your cooperation _not_ to act like a maniacal buffoon once he arrives. His suspicions will pique if you happen to do that, I'm sure you're aware." Saïx crossed his arms, allowing time for the Chilly Academic to calm himself down; the sheer thought of experimenting again managing to tip the man into a state of temporarily indomitable insanity. "Come now, then. We shall 'interview' him in the Gray Area. Do you have your sedative ready?"

"But of course, Saïx. Who do you take me for?" The Academic snickered, his dirty blonde locks obscuring his face as he flicked it.

"Do you remember your signal?"

The man cackled once more. "I'll ask again, Number Seven, who do you take me for?" He smirked a maniacal smile that is only produced once his mind is set towards his precious experiment ahead.

"Well, I'll remind you again, as I notice that you seem to forget everything and anything once you're absorbed in your work's processes." The man, then, began to explain the devious process to his calamitous partner in the utter hideousness they were to commit. "Now then, let us speak to him."

The two men entered the Gray Area, Saïx immediately marching up to the front of the lounging room, his arms crossed behind his back, staring intently at the Kingdom Heart just beyond his reach. Vexen threw his lab coat along the back of the couch as he tucked himself along it. "So Saïx, are you finally going to bring the lout here?" He sneered.

"Patience, Number Four. Do you have the sedative ready?" Saïx was obviously biding his time, the heart-shaped moon reminding the man of the treasured memories of the times when he and Lea were once together; his stoic attitude winning over Lea's useless form of reasoning. The cerulean-haired man shook his head vigorously. He would not succumb to those lost times, especially now that Axel is a changed man. _Enamored by that… that child! And betraying our lost friendship for _him_… what of our friendship remains…?_

"Yes, yes! Yes, already. I have it. Let's just bring him in. I'm dying for the chance to get good work once again!" Vexen growled, entwining his fingers into one another to hold back his urges.

"Fine…" And with that, Saïx created a dark corridor to Number Thirteen's room. "Thirteen, I'll need to speak to you in the Gray Area. Come when you are ready."

On the receiving side, Roxas lay in bed alongside his now-beloved, kissing him gently. He gasped as the corridor allowed for Saïx to hear such an action, and quieted himself immediately. He spoke once the corridor vanished. "Axel… I guess I need to go, then." He whispered, pecking his lover lightly along his jaw. "I'll be back soon." The love-struck teen pressed his forehead against his boyfriend's. "I love you."

"I love you too, Roxas." Axel grinned, delivering one final peck to his boyfriend's temple. "Hope he doesn't go too rough with you, sweetheart." The boy sighed. 'Sweetheart.' This new name for him… he enjoyed it. It told the golden blonde that he was loved sincerely. Their friendship was two years old, after all; their relationship going strong after a whole year. In that year, the boy recollected, many asked—rather daily—if the two had engaged sexually, which, to their surprise, they were told a truthful 'no.' It disgusted the redhead to no end, obviously. He could remember all of the trials and obstacles they went through in just the two years they were friends. All of the nonsense with the Organization in the first 358 days… and the boy could remember… a girl? _Hm… she looks kinda like Naminé. But… she isn't. Why can't I remember her?_ He also remembered all of the undercover affairs that he and Axel had to go through just to keep their sacred relationship a secret between themselves; that failed, apparently, since there are now friends who know their secrets. Roxas allowed himself to melt into the reminiscences—the first half of his life here, the time spent between he and Axel, the mysterious girl that now bothered his mind to match a name with that face (she wore a cloak similar to the Organization's… was she a member?), his troublesome friends that were now his best, and the marvelous boyfriend beside him; after all, the golden blonde was to arrive at his own ready.

"He won't go rough on me." Roxas wore a determined look about his face—now empowered by the recollections—his enticing, pleasant, patient, understanding, selfless, _wonderful_ Special One residing on his bed, exposing his muscular, yet compact and smooth, frame. "I won't let him. It's probably just a briefing. I'll be sure to tell you if I have to leave for anything in particular, okay?" The redheaded teen's hand darted out towards Roxas's, letting it brush away as he left his bedroom door for the Gray Area. Roxas remembered the present he gave his lover just under three months ago: it was his now-favored motorcycle. One he had specially painted with flames and all the works, a helmet to match.

"Um… Saïx? What did you need me for?" The sight of only Saïx and Vexen residing in the Gray Area was not a surprise to Roxas. It was the lounge room, after all. Zexion occupied the room to read his books in peace, Demyx used it to practice his sitar… so it was no surprise that Vexen was there, for whatever maniacal purpose. Little did the boy know of the sinister pairing's affairs there.

"I announced you here for a special mission, boy." The cerulean-haired second-in-command finally turned around to face the golden blonde teen as the boy threw on his cloak, signifying his importance to the team. "It is a mission to Wonderland, do you understand? There has been a powerful Heartless spotted there. Most residence believe that it is an Emblem. So make your place as a collector of hearts known, boy. Don't shirk your responsibilities. I expect many hearts from you after this."

"Oh… okay. I understand that, Saïx." The statement just after the briefing bothered the teen. He had to make note of it. "I don't usually shirk work, I don't think. And, well, you don't usually say that. Why do you say that now…?"

"Why?" Saïx grinned; the plan was unfolding perfectly into place. "I've noticed that you, the only obtainer of hearts, have not been accomplishing missions lately. That… as well as Number Eight."

The golden blonde teen remained tight-lipped. He couldn't allow Saïx to know of his secrets; that was imperative. "Well, that all could be a coincidence. And I think I'm pulling my weight. We _are_ getting closer to Kingdom Hearts, after all." Although the thirteenth Nobody was very good at hiding the truth by means of lying, his body language was terrible. He shifted very often, he disallowed his eyesight to meet with Saïx's, and he constantly scratched at his hand.

"Are you… _nervous_, young man, hm?" Saïx's voice was sour, his intentions all but known.

Roxas gasped at this, now unable to hold back his small reveal of nerve. "I… well, I…"

"Well what, Number Thirteen?" The cerulean-locked superior's voice ran icily. "What is your explanation for this, hm? What is _his_?" He didn't allow the golden blonde teen to explain. His perfect bluff danced from his lips. "I already know of his. I interrogated him already, _Roxas_." He spoke the boy's name in a harsh sort of contempt. "He reacted the exact same way when I spoke of the two of you, and finally he confessed; he explained to me all of the affairs that you two have been engaging in the past year."

The teen suddenly felt trapped, his boots mechanically backing away from the horrid man before him. "You…! He said… everything…? WHAT DID HE SAY?" The boy suddenly cried. "Tell me!"

"He told me enough. He said he _'loved'_ you. And you _'loved'_ him back." He spoke that precious word, 'loved,' like it was some sort of joke. Nobodies cannot feel, he must have thought, but he did not realize the true bond that the two shared.

"Stop it! There's nothing wrong with us!" Roxas shrieked, fear—for Axel, for his own life… for their relationship—forcing the light around him to create his faithful Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. "And you…! You're not tearing us apart…!"

The man tsked. "Oh-ho, Roxas. You're so naïve. If you could see how much error this _'relationship' _has caused, you would understand the reasoning behind what I'm about to do now." The second-in-command grinned wickedly.

"Wh-What do you mean…?" Roxas's back was pressed against the spine of the couch that Vexen quietly resided in. His utter horror forced himself at the ready. At the ready… for the very wrong target.

"Vexen, if you would do so kindly as to explain to the boy…" Saïx advised, presenting the man behind the two conversing.

"Vex—!" Roxas spun around to the dirty blonde scientist behind him, only to be met with a sedative that lodged itself into his throat. "Vex… no…" The golden blonde teen managed to gasp out as the sedative worked its way quickly along his bloodstream, numbing every corner of his body… every neuron in his brain… spiraling it all into an abrupt halt. "Axel…" He whispered as his eyelids fluttered shut, collapsing into the arms of Saïx.

The man grinned widely, gazing at the unconscious boy befallen in his arms. "Finally… the plan is done. We can rekindle the Kingdom Hearts operation. We can finally, _finally_, get on the steady road to becoming somebodies."

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**A/N:** No matter what story I end up writing, I always like writing the perspective of the bad guys. I love, for whatever possesses me, writing Saïx's dialogue, but adore writing Vexen's. I'll never understand why, but I just love writing the dialogue of insane people (I hope I'm not the only one).

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	5. Chapter V: The Last Reminiscence

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N: **I'm not gonna lie; not much happens in this chapter. This chapter is here because not much is known about Roxas's true personality throughout the story, and this is here to show that. In the next chapter, it'll show just how much Axel will lose. It also has a hand in revealing the last main character and last supporting character (although it's hard to tell who that is just based off of this little bit).

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**Chapter V: The Last Reminiscence**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1088_

_Roxas's Journal: Day 743_

_It had become pretty obvious to our small group of friends that we were together; Axel wanted to hold me at every opportunity he could. I'd try to go get some water, he'd snatch up my hand and pull me into a bear hug, kissing me on my cheek and neck for about another five minutes before I was so thirsty, my kisses didn't have any more moisture. And what were we doing before I needed water? Cuddling, of course. It seemed that this day, specifically, he didn't want to spend a moment without me._

_We sat about the Gray Area, Saïx gratefully busying himself with an important mission. Our small, quiet pair grew substantially by four once it was found that we loved each other. Apparently, there were two (rumored three) other pairs besides us. …I had no idea that my… my 'feeling' influenced so many people. Axel told me something about that… that the fact that I could feel was beginning to ebb onto other people. It was a scary thought, I had to admit, that it was my fault now that there were two (rumored three, I'll say again) other pairings besides me and Axel. It only made sense that Axel and I could feel. The fact that I had Ventus inside me made all the difference, and I could understand if he rubbed off on Axe, but I never expected his influence to shine down on the other members. It seemed that only those that I wished to gain emotions were doing so, but I suppose that makes sense; I only wish for the people I hang around to gain emotions. Ven does his 'work' unknowingly and seems to rub off on those that I hang around. And it's perfect, too; it's too subtle for the two superiors to know that we're gaining such emotion._

_…I completely forgot that today marks Axel and my one year anniversary (that would explain the excessive cuddling). I'd hope that he'd remember as well… but I'd feel terrible if I couldn't get him something. I suppose that I'll just give him his birthday present now and try to wow him better on his actual birthday… But now I understood why he was being so nice to me… so public about it. It was our one year. After this point, gay couples shouldn't be… 'closet?' (was the word?) anymore about their feelings…? I remember Axel saying… something like that. I never really saw a difference between 'straight' and 'gay' couples. I mean, it doesn't seem like we're much happier, or if we can be…_

_The day, however… it could've gone smoother. I mean, it was only today that the two other couples found out about us and… err… 'inducted' us into their group, forcibly. Well, at least we have four more people to celebrate our relationship with. _

_When I arrived into our spot in the Gray Area (I realized it was abandoned without Saïx to give people missions), I noticed that Marluxia's boyfriend wasn't there, and I asked all too quickly, "Hey, Mar-Mar, where's Zexion?" There was a horribly pained look about his face and I immediately realized my mistake as my memory caught up with me, and I felt terribly guilty. "I-I'm sorry. I totally forgot."_

_"No, no…" Marluxia muttered, rummaging through his cloak pockets and produced his picture of he as Lumaria and Zexion as Ienzo, tending to their joint garden so many years ago. It was taken before they'd lost their hearts. They'd been together for so long… "It's alright. We'll find him." The honey brown-locked man whispered, not an ounce of determination in his melancholy voice. He sighed, a wave of heavy ghosting from his lips. "I… I've been saying that for a year now. Today, whilst also marking the first year anniversary of you two's dating… also marks the anniversary of his disappearance. I have… very little hope he is alive… but as long as hope remains, I will not give up on him."_

_So Demyx, always one to be completely oblivious to the gravity around him, beamed at the two of us. At the time, Axel's arms were wrapped around my waist as he kissed me gently along my neckline. I, meanwhile, was melting at this, gasping ever so slightly as I drank in his scent; he smelled lightly of barbeque and strongly of charcoal. For whatever reason, and I'll never understand… I loved that burnt scent. I hate it how he teases me; he knows just how I work. How I keen at his sensitive touch… gasping and, when private, begging desperately for more. He knew just how to get me to moan… and he was working the murmurs from me in front of our three new friends. I forced myself to quiet, focusing on his strong, smoldering scent that I ever so loved. To Demyx, it seemed that I was playfully resisting him as he drew his lips across the canvas of my skin. "Axel…" I could help but let slip this murmur. His chest pressed against the arch of my spine, causing me to straighten, my arm maneuvering its way to brush against the back of his neck, stroking through his flaming red locks. "Axel… we have company… please… please don't let them see me like this…"_

_I could feel Axel's hot breath drifting along my neckline, escaping into my cloak. He began to peck my neck, instead, slightly nibbling at the sensitive, pale skin as he did so, jolting tingles up my spine. I disliked how he seemed to attempt to dodge my question simply by pleasuring me; but after a few more pecks and nibbles traveling past my chin, he stopped his motions as his lips brushed against my ear, and his heated breath whispered a single word, "So?"_

_Demyx was amused by this display, his hand cupping his chin. "You guys are so cute." As Axel and I jumped, we found him grinning slyly… expectantly. _

_Axel growled what seemed to be something that a tiger would make—it resonated from the end of his throat… the pit of his stomach—after his startle and brought his fist down on Demyx's face, explaining his frustration in one fell swoop. His knuckles remained tensed after he did so, as if prepared to deliver another blow. "Do that again, asshat, and it'll be your teeth." He threatened harshly, as he is known to do around others that aren't named 'Roxas,' and returned to me, chiming sweetly, "You okay, sweetheart?" _

_I couldn't help but chuckle at Axel's display, even if it brought poor Demyx harm. It was what he deserved, after all. Not even his boyfriend, Xigbar, defended him in his comical fall; instead, he chuckled along. "Why wouldn't I be? Demyx isn't threatening, and he didn't try to hurt us. I'm fine… you just bit my earlobe."_

_The redhead hesitated before me, his brilliant emerald eyes wandering as he scratched the back of his head. "Err… sorry…" He muttered. Outside of just 'us,' he acts bitterly and defensively to those he isn't acquainted with. His mannerisms are similar to that of a thug kingpin. He is cold and almost uncaring for other's emotions. This, however, takes a one-eighty when he's around me. He is tender and sweet and patient—ever so patient—around me. He always says 'I understand,' or 'If you want to,' or 'When you're ready…' he always allows me the option to hold back until I feel comfortable. …That's not to say with others. He's already pinned Luxord twice to the wall with his chakrams for stealing my underwear as a gambling prize, nearly burning him extra-crispy the second time. …It's awkward to know how desperately the others, inside and outside the Organization, play to try to win my poor underwear over. Around others he isn't acquainted with (he's only acquainted with Zexion, Marluxia and I), he is demanding and ruthless; his answer that he ever-so demands never slips him by. His casual clothing choice and sense of fashion seem to reflect this…_

_Demyx rose again after his hit, and leaned back over the seat's back again, his eyes still sly. "You guys… fucked yet?"_

_I eyed Axel, warning him silently not to act so tough around me. 'I can handle myself,' the stare told. It couldn't kill him to use his patience and understanding around this fool? Axel sighed heavily, and paused for a long time before he answered squarely, "No, we haven't. I respect Roxas and I'm only willing to go when he's ready. And plus, he's a minor." Axel's voice drifted at the last word and his arms crossed, his left arm tugging at the cloth of the other. Axel is nineteen. He's only three years older than me, and yet he's still considered a pedophile. It isn't fair; after all, we both have 'teen' in our age._

_The Melodious Nocturne considered his words for a moment, then began to laugh uncontrollably, snorting every now and then. "Pfft! Really? You expect me to believe that? No offense, Axe, but you're kinda a ruthless thug biker dude. You always boss people around, you're always stern, you're always creepily sarcastic, and you always carry a gun when you're being casual. You demand things all the time and have your fists fly when you don't get what you want. …And you expect me to believe you're some sort of holy saint around Roxas? Really? C'mon, now! How many times have you screwed him? Be honest!"_

_"None," He answered coolly. "I respect Roxas. If I wanted to use him for his body, like you think I'm doing, I would have screwed him and dumped him already. Dem, no. I _love_ him. The same way that Marley loves Zex."_

_Demyx studied my beloved redhead's stern, yet compassionate, expression, his index and thumb bracing his chin. He nodded with an investigatory pout. "Alright, fine. How many times have you 'played' with him."_

_"Wh—? None!" My older partner sighed, regaining his composure. He scowled as he responded, "Never. I've never… 'toyed' with Roxas. Not like that."_

_Demyx's prodding was discomforting me. I couldn't hold silent whilst he drove my boyfriend insane. "Why…" I muttered, loud enough for at least Axel to hear my petit mutter._

_He stopped his incessant argument with Demyx when his neck turned towards me. "What's that, sweetheart?"_

_I cleared my throat, visibly blushing. I was never used to a lot of attention. I was never one to make a scene. I was scared stiff at inductions (jeez, it's been 742 days since then… really?) due to that many eyes staring at me. Ironically, it was the brilliant crystalline emeralds that first caught my eye, despite Xemnas's chair being that which was directly in front of me. It was a simple gaze to avoid the Superior's, and yet it's what captivated me from the moment I saw them. "Why are you insisting that he'd do those things to me, Dem? Don't you see? He loves me."_

_After the night was over, and we had our cake (dear Lord, Axel bought us a cake for our one-year. I mean, it's the one year anniversary of our DATING, not marriage!), I slipped into my checkerboard pajamas and threw myself under the sheets. How I wished my eyesight would hold out on me and my tired wouldn't cripple; I didn't want this day to end. But of course, the moment I blinked, light formed to create a figure that looked similar to me. His legs were crossed in a way that the soles of his armored feet met each other in symmetry, his hands resting on his knees, an expectant grin on his face. "Now I don't care how bushed you are, you're gonna tell me anything and everything of what happened."_

_"Ven…" I moaned, throwing my pillow over my head. "You're too bright… and plus, weren't you awake when it happened?"_

_"No, Rox. That's your shift. When you wake, I sleep, remember?" Ventus's face still held that expectancy when I turned to it again. It bothered me; it looked like Demyx's, and I didn't want to get into another conversation like _that_ again. "And then there are those moments where you're just too tired and I'm just awake enough that we can talk and both be conscious."_

_I felt I was forced to correct him, a terrible habit of mine. "Besides when I sleep."_

_He twisted his lip to a side. "Yes and no. Yes, we talk and you _seem_ conscious, but you've got to remember that you are, in fact, asleep, Roxas."_

_This piqued my curiosity. "Does that mean when you sleep, I'm there, too?"_

_This caused Ventus to chuckle sweetly. Although he seems to act childish and what not around me, all in all, he acts much like a father would, I think. During times like that, he sounds older when he speaks to me. After all he's told me, anyway, he could be old enough to be my father. "Of course it does, when I'm scared or nervous… or just need someone to talk to. But that doesn't make it reality. So you're gonna fill me in. What happened today? I mean, it must be good, 'cause I can taste cake." He snickered._

_"Tomorrow," I moaned, resuming my stance as the tired child that was vanquished only moments ago._

_"No, no! You're not gonna slip by that easily…! C'mon, please?" My fellow Keyblade-wielding friend pleaded childishly. _

_I groaned. "Fine, but I'll keep it brief, okay?" I sat up in my bed and faced the illuminated figure directly, shielding my eyes from his acute brightness. "Can you turn down your lighting, please? Saïx might think I'm trying to stay up late, and if he finds you, it could be trouble."_

_Ven tsked, waggling a finger in front of my face. "Roxas, Roxas… my sweetly naïve Roxas… I'm a figment that only you can see, remember? The light, the voice… no one can hear it and see it but you. I'm in your… err… I'm your heart, Roxas. I'm projected through your mind."_

_"But that doesn't mean he can't hear me…!" I hissed, scoping around the room, suspecting hidden spies lying about._

_This was one of those moments where Ventus turned from my gossiping, loving friend to my warm father-figure. Like I said, times like this—when I'm nervous or scared—he'll change his appearance to that of someone in his forties, so that I have a sort of father to confide in. But it was only a brief statement or two, so only his voice changed. It's a really strange thing he can do, and it always manages to catch me off-guard with it. He makes himself usually appear my age, sixteen, but I can only wonder how old he really is… He says he has two children… "Honey, you're already asleep. You nodded off right after you jumped into bed." His voice heightened in pitch again, resuming his role as my gossiper. "So now you're stuck with me until you tell me what happened today! And no 'I'm tired' crap! You're asleep, so you can't be tired."_

_I decided to keep this game going. So far, I hadn't had to breathe a word of my events today. "…I think I'm in some sort of limbo, 'cause I really am tired."_

_Ventus pouted, now folding his arms. "Don't make me make you dream of an icy cold shower, 'cause then you'll really wake up!"_

_And as quickly as it started, the game was up. Ventus always had the upper hand when I resided in my subconscious with him. "Fine… I'll talk. But only because I have to." I sighed, and began to explain, as minimally as possible, "Axel hung around me all day, he didn't let me wander too far without being by my side. Then we hung out with Xiggy, Dem and Mar-Mar. We had dinner—Axel and I privately, of course—then I came home to cake. Okay? That's it."_

_This didn't satisfy my subconscious partner. "…You guys didn't have any you two time?" Ventus decided he would prod me for all I was worth._

_I groaned again. "Of course we did, Ven. Isn't it obvious? I love him, of course I'd do that. Now let me sleep and dream of him."_

_Ventus smiled at me sweetly again, his fatherly figure returning, and he left me with just as I wished, but not before giving me a kiss to my temple. "Alright then, honey. I'll leave you with dreams of your beloved." His voice was deep again, his appearance I was never sure of if he looked thirty or so or younger. He looked like someone that was younger than they looked; enough so that he'd seem like both a friend and a father, if not an older brother. "Sleep well," He whispered, and as he faded, I was joined by Axel in the station tower, two popsicle in his hand as he kissed me on my cheek and offered one._

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**A/N:** I couldn't shirk away from Ventus! The entire concept of Roxas asleep only kinda forced that subconscious partner thing (you could notice this from all the way in Ch. 1 if you were a close reader!) and of course it would have to be Ven (credit goes where credit is due: I was inspired to do this from an author by the name of Azurela (shoutout: I owe a lot to you, if you're reading this for being a constant reminder that I can go the distance))! Just a little disclaimer: things are already kinda AU at this point, although it isn't as AU as some other stuff on the website, but things involving Ventus especially get pretty alternate as time goes on.

Sorry in advance for those who might have thought there'd be some Zemyx going on, but I clearly wrote in the summary that it'd be a not-as-explored pair of Marluxia and Zexion that I have dubbed 'Marlexion.'

And for those of you that actually read my author's notice, the reason that both the journal entry and the events after are in _italics_ (I don't know why I do that) is because that, in my stories, journal entries, dates, memories, and character thoughts all share the use of italics (there, I didn't use it!). The fact that this journal entry _is_ a reminiscence does not change my formatting.

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	6. Chapter VI: Day One and A Chilling Shift

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N: **UUUUUGAH! I'm so sorry that this chapter came so late! I was working a side-project story on Phoenix Wright, and this story kinda slipped my mind! I'll try to make it up I promise! 'Cause I lament to say that I very much enjoyed this chapter. You'll see why later.

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**Chapter VI: Day One and A Chilling Shift**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1177_

_Roxas's Journal: Day 001_

_It's unclear to me what my purpose is here. Why I came here… where I was before… it's all a fog. All I remember is that hooded man—Xemnas was his name?—spreading out those four hideous letters, and placing a single, golden 'X' within them as the letters spun around me wildly, giving me a new name, 'Roxas.' I am Roxas. I was given this room—in which I now reside in—just last night, when he, his right-hand, Saïx, and another man only referred to as 'Number Four,' brought me to this Castle. I am to be initiated today. Saïx has already warned me that one member, Number Eight, shall not be there to induct me. He will be on an important mission and will return sometime between now and tomorrow. When such a time arrives, I'm sure I will notice him, as he will not be familiar. As Xemnas, or as I shall now refer to him as 'the Superior,' instructed, I will not engage with that man, Number Eight; he is apparently 'bad news.' If that's so, I can only wonder why he is in this 'Organization XIII.' Perhaps to occupy the position of Number Eight to this team hell-bent on obtaining thirteen members…? If that is the case, I am the last member; Number Thirteen: Roxas. _

The young blonde stepped out of the Round Room, noticing each face as he passed them by. Although he could not place a name onto them, he could place their number by the embossed Roman numeral that was carved into each of their seats as he was inducted. He could notice that electric blonde, witch-like girl that constantly belittled others; she was Number Twelve, the member initiated before he. He remembered the dirty blonde with the strange, yet enthrallingly interesting haircut; the laid-back man who constantly rehearsed his sweet melodies on his sitar, he was Number Nine. He identified the platinum blonde card-dealer as Number Ten, the sneaky-looking scientist who spoke eloquently as Number Four, the quiet, yet kind, tall, brutish-looking man as Number Five. Yet, out of all the members that the boy could familiarize, he did not seem to notice, as he was informed, Number Eight—the member that was supposed to reside beside the second-in-command Saïx, and the member who played the sitar… The newbie teen could only wonder the face behind the number.

And yet… there was another unexplained absence. The boy sought his Superior for the answer. "Um… Master Xemnas, there is another absence that you have not explained…" The boy's voice was barely audible, his nerves preventing the necessary volume from escaping his throat.

"Oh, yes. You mean Number Six?" The boy simply nodded. "You see, that member went on a mission just a week ago and never returned. Since, we have sent numerous search parties to find him. I assure you, once we do find him, we shall introduce you two to one another personally, alright?" The silvery-locked man grinned as the thin lie wormed from his lips, his orange eyes gleaming. Any other member would not be able to explain Zexion's 'disappearance;' only the Superior knew of his exact location, his dubious mind twisting the reality of the member's grueling situation there.

It was just like any other mission for Axel. It was one that would take some time. Just so, he imagined that Roxas had taken a similar mission, as far as length was concerned. Although, the man's common sense finally hit him: he was sent on this mission just a day after Roxas's departure to his own; he was probably home already. The redhead sighed as his chakram tore through another Heartless, his prior mission to destroy the powerful Heartless long past. Since the deed was done, Heartless seemed to have swarmed all around him, forcing him to fight through all of them, occupying a week of his time for a grand total of over three weeks. And through those three weeks, the only thing the man could think of was his beloved awaiting his return in the Castle that Never Was. "Jeez," Axel muttered to himself. "If these stupid sand pirates don't leave me alone… I'm tired of this dusty desert…" He growled, tearing through another Heartless, his agitation and yearning to return home kindled the fire blazing from his chakrams. "Please…?" He begged the Neoshadow before him aimlessly. As it charged mindlessly, Axel growled, fire demolishing the creature. To his utter relief, the dark corridor finally became visible beyond a sand-covered kiosk. "_Finally_!" He grinned widely. "Three weeks of my life wasted, and now I can finally relax! This desert heat's overheating me! _Me_! The fire boy! Heheheh… I'm talking to myself, aren't I? Just goes to show…" The redhead continued to monologue to himself as he trudged towards the enchant of the corridor before him, the tempts of a long, lukewarm shower enticing him ever nearer. "…And then, screw sea-salt ice cream popsicles! I'm getting a frikken sea-salt hot fudge sundae! I'll get a popsicle for Roxas, but goddamn! I'm getting a whole frikken sundae and hogging it to myself! God, I'm starving! Haven't eaten since that nice lady gave me that bread loaf and, when was that…? that was a week ago! I haven't eaten in a whole frikken week, man!" He decided it would be best to discontinue his ranting as he entered through the dark corridor, returning home to the Gray Area where, Lord behold, Roxas was not there. _Eh, I can't blame him. He doesn't know when I return. Just like I don't when he returns. I can't expect him to run over to me, arms outstretched to me… Although that would be nice…_

He was greeted by Saïx. "Ah, hello Axel. I haven't seen you in a while."

The ranting held inside him he could not tame; Axel's angers spat out of him like venom as he ranted out his troubles to his once-friend, threads of fire literally escaping from his saliva as he spoke. "Yeah I know, right? God, you can't maroon me like that ever again, Saïx! I was stuck there for too damned long! They mobbed on me, man! They wouldn't. Stop. Coming. There were Heartless corridors left and right! Soon I was surrounded by forty of them or more at a time! They'd never leave me with just one until I attacked the powerful Heartless, and even then there were maybe ten others with it! They wouldn't leave me alone… and when I finally killed the giant jackass, they bombarded me with even _more_ Heartless at a time! I'd be fighting a hundred of them at a time! All along the walls, all over the ground and the sky, all you could see was that black-and-red Heartless symbol!" He gripped the edge of the hood of Saïx's cloak and whispered, almost maniacally, "That's all you could see…! Got… it… memorized…?"

The Luna Diviner did not know how to respond. "Err… Axel, I believe that a shower is in order. You're covered in dust and sand and…" He took a whiff of Axel's cloak. "Is that papaya I smell?"

"Yup. Just before I got home, about a day ago, they knocked me into a merchant's shop. It was loaded with papayas. The smell still lingers, doesn't it?"

The cerulean-haired Diviner's eye twitched at the bizarre attitude of his teammate. "…Leave your outfit outside the bathroom before you shower; I'll have Marluxia or someone wash it."

"Th-Thanks. Um… you seen Roxas?" Axel couldn't help but ask of the whereabouts of his sweetheart, although none truly knew of the deep extent of their relationship.

Saïx couldn't help but let slip a slight grin. Axel was truly clueless of Roxas's new… 'outlook on life,' wasn't he? "He is in his room, resting."

"I see… so I'mona take a shower. Be back in a little bit." After the redheaded teen finished his half-an-hour-long shower, and with the squeak of his towel picking through his newly sand-free ear, he hurried his toweled self into his room. With a quick change into a casual red undershirt and gray sweatpants, he slipped into the room of his beloved, easing himself behind Roxas and wrapping his arms around the younger teen's waist. "Roxas…" The redhead sang teasingly. "You sleeping on me, sweetheart?"

The golden blonde teen before him stirred, tensing instantly once it had dawned on him that there was a presence behind him, gripping the younger teen against him. "Who…?"

"Roxas, it's me. Good to know you're awake, huh?" It was here that the foreign presence began to massage his lips across the unsuspecting boy's neckline. "How you been, Rox? Missed me, hm?" The man's kisses continued up the boy's neck and along his ear. "Oh! Jeez, you're so tense! You forgot about me already? Just… relax, sweetheart…" Here the aghast teen felt a warm, wet substance drag across the junction of neckline and jaw, a cold, metallic lump in the middle of the substance that the perturbed golden blonde could identify as the man's repugnant tongue, a ball piercing about it.

The boy's hands glowed, and his faithful Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, appeared, instantaneously thrusting one towards the foreign figure, causing said man to jump back. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" The boy cried, the unbuttoned bottom end of his checkerboard pajamas clung to the sides of his shirt, exposing his heaving stomach. "ANSWER ME!"

The man looked… hurt. Honestly hurt by the piercing questions. "R-Roxas… it's me. Your boyfriend, Axel, remember?" The perplexed redhead whimpered, his heart sinking by Roxas's not-so-humorous display.

"N-No! Who the hell do you think you are?" 'Roxas' waved his white weapon menacingly at the enigmatic figure before him, bewilderment and panic guiding his actions.

"I. Am. Your. Boyfriend." Axel repeated again, trying to swallow the pain and confusion hidden just beyond his lips. "You don't remember me, sweetheart…?"

"I don't have a boyfriend!" Roxas shrieked, that nagging word annoying him. 'Sweetheart…' like he was the man's child… like that fiend _owned_ him… "Relationships are obsolete. That is not my mission here, to get sidetracked by such unnecessary matters."

"Wh…?" Even the way Roxas was speaking now was an ominous change from the original. "R-Roxas… I… I thought you loved me…" Axel's words could not describe the manner in which his heart was tearing itself to bits. It was confused; trying to grasp the understanding of the situation before it. It was attempting to understand—without surrendering to the logical, yet tragic, reason that it was trying to suppress—why, exactly, Roxas was acting so strangely.

"Get out…" The boy demanded, his voice low and intimidating. When the time arrived that the Flurry of Dancing Flames did not respond, the shorter male snarled, almost animalistic, "GET. OUT!"

_It was here that the desperate cries of the fearful boy were familiarize to the ears of a certain cerulean-haired man, forcing a cruel grin about his face. His mind hatched an iniquitous plot to further confound and distance this man from his 'lover,' or as Axel so fondly refers to him as, 'sweetheart.' The scarred Nobody rushed into the room marked 'XIII' and gasped out, "Number Ei—Axel? What the hell do you think you're doing? Get away from him!" Saïx rushed at the 'malicious' man and threw the redhead's hands behind his back, restraining him. The second-in-command directed his voice to the distraught neophyte once he felt the man was secured. "Roxas? Oh, Roxas, my dear child! Are you alright?"_

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**A/N: **Lies, betrayal, memory loss… it's weird to say that it's these sort of angsty-type things I like writing about. (This is why I'll probably stick to being a tragedy/romance writer. *Sigh*) Writing about Axel's mild insanity I found to be enjoyable, and the minor papaya thing. I dunno.

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	7. Chapter VII: The Epicenter of Problems

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N:** Hello, all of my loyal viewers! I have said that I will now be posting weekly, so you know when to look for this lil' story (that was actually so I'd stop my finger from itching over to the 'Add New Chapter' button… :/ This chapter, I happen to love… a lot. If'n there's any of you out there that are real KH Nazis (no offense; I dunno who's out there), please withhold your angry ranting until you read the other A/N at the end of this chapter. You'll see why later.

DAMNIT! Dream Drop Distance is messing up my story! DX (Oh well. I suppose that's why they call it AU)

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**Chapter VII: The Epicenter of Problems**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1177_

As the boy's Keyblades faded into the light, he wrapped his arms around himself protectively. "I… I suppose so." The golden blonde muttered, his voice mirroring his violation.

"What happened?" The Diviner, although already aware of the current situation, asked this question to further Axel's disconcertion. "Did he hurt you?"

"N-No… I'm alright. He just… He tried… I dunno. When I awoke, his arms were wrapped around me, and he began to kiss me." Roxas's eyes snapped shut, his teeth worrying his lower lip in a traumatized bite. "I… I didn't want it, Saïx." The next four words that were to escape from the tender blonde's lips would shatter Axel's entire perception of reality… and his outlook on the power of love itself. "…I don't love him."

"So, Axel, this is what you stoop to? Molesting another member?" Saïx growled. "You and I will need to talk." It was far too late, and the Diviner knew just this; he enjoyed it.

Axel's neck twitched his head to a side, the last four words like poltergeists haunting every sensitive recess of his mind. "You… You don't… love me…?" The emerald-eyed redhead had taken the time to attempt to decipher exactly _what_ had happened in the three weeks since he embarked on that abhorrent mission. His mind could not determine exactly what happened at the time; it was too far gone into pursuing the old Roxas from the new. "But Roxas—"

"Now!" Saïx did not grant Axel's discussion with Roxas. He took the fiery Nobody into the Addled Impasse, forcing a shimmer of moon energy to barricade the entrance and exit. It would be only he and Axel—Isa and Lea—that would speak now.

It seemed that the three weeks spent in Agrabah spun the redheaded teen into a new reality. In this reality, it seemed that it was Day One again for Roxas, and that the Organization all had accustomed themselves to his presence rather nicely, instead of shooing him away as they did in the reality that the Nobody recollects. It appeared that the world was spinning in reverse… creating a reality without the fiery teen there to comfort the zombie of a boy that Roxas was those very first few days. Now it appeared that the boy was secured to Saïx's hip; the cerulean-haired man now treating the golden-locked teen like a son, rather than a worthless disturbance. "Isa… c'mon, quit the games. Why am I here?"

" 'Quit the games?' " The man almost laughed. "You know well why you are here, _Lea_. You molested a member of this Organization, and I will not stand for it." The cerulean-haired Nobody turned to face the Kingdom Heart, absorbing its moonlike properties to engorge his strength. "How could you do such a thing?" He sneered sourly.

"How could…? I-I didn't, Isa! You gotta believe me!" The man helplessly cried, consternation morphing the room as if it was caving in on him. Just beyond the closing world, before him, was his sweetheart, ebbing away into the darkness. "Roxas…!" This delusion rekindled the man's passions. "You know I would never do that to him, Isa!"

"Ah, yes… I can see why you would think I'd trust you, Number Eight. But, lamentably, what you must understand, is that the relationship that we so innocently shared as Isa and Lea is but a decaying memory. It is my duty as Saïx—as Number Seven and as second-in-charge of the Organization—to disallow any unjust act from roaming free." His expression hard, he glared at his once-friend. "And this, my ex-friend, is a very unjust act."

"Why…? Why won't anyone believe me…?!" The fiery Nobody growled, unable to understand his lover's new behavior. It was here that the Diviner, unexpectedly and ever-so suddenly, threw his head back, beginning to laugh uncontrollably. "Wh-What? What's so funny?" The fury quelling inside of Axel quickly began to boil, his fists beginning to engulf in flames. "What did you do to him, you son of a bitch?!"

"Phwephff…" Laughter escaped the once-austere Nobody's lips in sputters. "N-Nothing, my dear Axel. Why would you believe that _I_ have done something to your beloved… _sweetheart_…?" The last word spoken clipped icily from his lips, hardening his stoic glare as he realigned himself.

"What have you done…?!" The man's anger he could restrain no more; his chakrams, Eternal Flames, blazing into his hands from their domain in their namesake. He attempted to calm down once more… _"Axel… that way that you treat people isn't nice." Roxas's arms were crossed, his eyes studying the patterned carpet beneath them. He was not amused. "You're always so kind and patient and understanding with _me_, and that I know, because you love me so dearly. But others… I can see why they didn't believe you when you were sincere about loving me. You're two different people. Please… for me, my sweet, please try to act as patient and understanding as you are with me, with them, okay?" And here, Roxas chuckled to himself, amused at the three words he was to produce. "Get it memorized."_ Axel's emerald eyes slid shut; he would cherish Roxas's words—the Roxas the he knew loved him and the Roxas whose heart he now metaphorically possessed—yet would not let this man slide by without delving into the details surrounding Roxas's unexpected change. "Tell me, Isa, if 'the relationship that we so innocently shared as Isa and Lea is but a decaying memory,' why I shouldn't be allowed to slit your throat where you stand."

The cerulean-haired Nobody let slip more uncontrolled laughter, the sheer sound irritating the tense man before him. "Oh, Lea, only you could force all of this laughter upon me, for it is only you that can make such a damned fool of yourself…"

"Damnit, Saïx, I'm giving you one last chance…!" The redhead readied his chakram at his once-friend, fire blazing ardently from it.

The man fell silent as he straightened himself. "…I see now that your devotion to that… that _boy_ is too great. Just as Number Six's determination to preserve your secret affair."

"Wh-Wh… WHAT?!" The logical scenario played out in the Flurry of Dancing Flames's mind all-too vividly. "He… You killed him?!"

The fiery Nobody was silenced by his adversary's metronomic tsk. "Of course I wouldn't kill Number Six, Lea. Phweff…" The man had to contain himself to prevent unnecessary laughter, his eyes nearly befalling to tears in the effort. "Why would you think that…?" He chuckled. "Are… Are you afraid to lose to me, Lea?" It was here that the Diviner straightened himself once more from his ordeal—his stern expression boring chillingly into Axel's spirit once more—summoning the soft, ivory light of the Kingdom Heart before him to his palm. With a flash, his beloved claymore, Lunatic, appeared as the man gripped it masterfully, immediately threatening the Flurry of Dancing Flames. "Is that why you fear for your comrade?"

"Isa…" The redheaded man whispered quietly. "I'll fight you. And-And if I win, you'll change Roxas back."

The man's vehement laughter returned once more. "Phweph… and what, phff, make you believe that _I_ am the one responsible for this boy's change?" He _giggled_ as he regained himself.

"Because you came to aid him, isn't it obvious?" Axel's agitation did not die down; the constant, almost belittling, laughter from his stern, stoic friend began to befuddle him further than the initial experience of Roxas's dynamic change. "You were the only one that decided to help him, so you obviously prepared the scene for this."

"Amusing…" The man cupped his lips to catch the few remaining snickers. "But what is there to make of Roxas's behavior? Surely, that is not 'normal.' "

Axel did not enjoy the man's dodgy teasing. "Damnit, Saïx! I _know_ it was you! How the hell could you know that Roxas and I were together?!" Axel cried, the fires engulfing his knuckles and chakrams beginning to blaze a bright blue.

"I didn't… as I only now know only from this moment onwards." Saïx was obviously lying; his hand holding back inexplicable laughter, his relaxed position… it all pointed to the man's blatant prevarication.

"LIES!" The younger man cried, his indignation boiling as his memory toyed with him. It recollected that moment when the boys' lips met one another ever so innocently for that very first time on the winding station tower enveloped by the soft, white light of the eternally setting sun. "You knew I called him 'sweetheart!' You knew the nickname I gave him! You knew just how much he meant to me…! You son of a bitch…!" Axel's ire soon collapsed unto him as the reality of his lost, yet found, sweetheart soon overwhelmed him. His chakrams faded, his hands threw themselves up, shielding his face as the black gloves began to dampen, fresh tears dripping from them. Saïx gasped in a quiet shock, and as he did so, the redhead's animosity towards the man before him now reared its daring head with an eerie, yet exacerbating culmination. "You…! It was you! It was ALL YOU! YOU CHANGED HIM!" The fiery Nobody's fury peaked again, and as his chakrams returned from their eternal flames, he gripped them in a secure tight, an all-powerful white fire kindling from his knuckles and through the weapon. He readied his weapons at the appalled man before him, a maniacal anger blistering through his body, when a light voice whispered serenely though his mind, "_Please… for me, my sweet, please try to act as patient and understanding as you are with me, with them, okay?" And here, Roxas chuckled to himself, amused at the three words he was to produce. "Get it memorized." _…That sweet chuckle forced the man to sigh, his body now awash with a newfound calm, morphing the chuckle thereafter into a low snicker. His lips made a popping noise as he shook his head at the man he once knew as Isa, now as Saïx. Once, this was a boy that he would spend hours dizzying himself over to prove his correctness. Now, he was an empty shell of a man that Axel was content with discarding. "We'll fight, Saïx." He commanded, a confident cool about his voice. Regrettably, this calmed the color of his white-hot fire, dropping the temperature to a bright orange once again. "If I win, you'll return Roxas to the way he was. If I lose, however," The man's emerald eyes, now hardened into a forest green, glanced up at his adversary. "Well, then… that's up for you to decide."

The final statement forced a raise-of-the-eyebrow. The cerulean-haired Nobody's orange eyes locked with the forest green, and the man immediately burst into laughter, unable to understand, himself, what had overtaken him. "You… phwff… You mean me…? I get to decide your fate should you lose…?" Saïx was amused by the sudden shift in Axel's emotion. He was dividing himself from Lea after all. He was no longer the brazen brute that demanded authority and bitterly sneered away those who dared to challenge him. It seems that the Axel that was known so well for his cruel sarcasm and bitter distance… that was Lea. This confident, yet tender male before him… the Luna Diviner was unsure _what_ to call him. If this was Axel, then who was the man occupying the position of Number Eight all of this time…?

"But of course." The newly-enigmatic figure's arms crossed, an expectant look sketched across his face.

"Fine…" The man's laughter held in his throat as he spoke. "If you lose, you'll meet Number Six's fate: you'll be transported away, never to meet another dark corridor to lead you home."

"Good," This new form of Axel grinned. He twirled his chakram in his hands as he pointed it casually at his opposition. "Now that we know that our rules are set, will you ready your blade?"

The scarred man's laughter had not returned. This new, tranquil, yet stern, man must have been the cause. He obeyed the fiery-locked man's request, holding his claymore at the ready. "I am ready to strike, as you are."

"Then," The redheaded teen's emerald eyes shone wildly, as if he had been craving the moment where he would gain permission to rend his weapons into his superior's flesh. He grinned widely, fire beginning to blaze from his fingertips and engulfing his weapons in a blazing, scarlet sea. "Let's put on one hell of a show!"

It was the Diviner who would strike first, thrusting his weapon out, testing, as his opponent dodged to his right, returning with a swing from his blazing chakram. Even as the scarred Nobody dodged, he could not escape the few embers that seared his nose. The man hissed from this momentarily, then sent a wave of moonlight energy in counterattack, shadowing around Axel as he attempted to avoid, engulfing him with the radiance of darkness. The redhead staggered backwards, launching one of his smoldering weapons at Saïx as if it was a Frisbee. The cerulean-haired man deflected it with his claymore, closing the distance between the two as Axel's chakram returned to his hand in a blaze. He slashed again, only this time, Saïx escaped behind him, slashing the thinner male with his weapon, felling him to the floor. Axel rolled from the way of the thrust claymore finally able to slash at one of the hands as he attempted to gain distance. "You realize, Lea, that it is the night…"

The two men were panting as the redhead realized that his once-comrade was not returning his strikes. "A-And…?"

"Here…" The man began to float to the air as a wave of ivory light enveloped him, and all senses were lost as he snarled, "I grow stronger!" The claymore drifted from its owner's hands, yet still took orders from he and he alone. It flung itself towards the fiery Nobody, mercilessly slashing and stabbing as its master watched on. Axel's eyesight was fuzzy as he caught the figure launching himself into the air, then came crashing down on his stomach. The eighth member tried desperately to simply raise his head as the once-friend before him regained his composure. His eyesight morphed into a speckled sky scape, and soon the blurry imagine of his hollowed-out friend began to fade as Axel could no longer hold his consciousness.

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**A/N:** Eh… sorry if anyone had to read the last chapter for this one… I was thinking of merging these two chapters, but then that'd be a big ol' problem (it'd be too long. Some of my later chapters get hella long, but I really didn't want to bother anyone… :/).

Now, for those of you that were probably bitching about Saïx's personality, I have two good reasons for making him the way I did (see? I had a plan! ;P): A) Saïx constantly refers to Axel as 'Lea,' implying that the overall mood of his responses are similar to that of best friends, as Isa and Lea were. His laughter would be similar (eh… you don't see very much of Isa in BbS, so I can't really judge) to if Lea (probably being a durrn fool) would make a fool of himself. Y'know? Best friend-type stuff. And point B) Although you happen to see the heart-shaped moon often in the Castle, I would assume that being by the thing would kinda make him tip on his Berserk state, especially when provoked. Knowing he had to talk to Axel, who was clearly furious, he had to be on the ready, willing to activate his Berserk form at a moment's notice. That being said, his creepy laughter and contained laughter (that's my onomatopoia with the 'Phweff' thing) is supposed to be him going kinda crazy as well.

Look at it how you'd like, but either of those answer your questions as to Saïx's OOC-ness.

And sorry if my writing for the fight scene was bad. I'm not too terribly good at fight scenes. :/ *Draws in deep breath*

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	8. Chapter VIII: A Reason to Fight

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N:** This chapter sets up a lot for what's to come later on. I don't really know how to sum up how things are going to go on, since I'd be spoiling, so I'll just say that this chapter shows a little bit more of the original Roxas through flashbacks.

I decided now that I will update every Sunday, since school is starting and Mondays are a no-no now.

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**Chapter VIII: A Reason to Fight**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1123_

"_Axel, how come we're getting more free time? Shouldn't I be collecting more hearts?" Roxas pondered aimlessly as he nestled himself along my arm._

"_No one said you couldn't. No one said you could. I mean, you can go ahead and try to go on a heart-spree like you had your first couple days, but then you'd never be able to have times like these," Another wave lapped across our feet, this one was able to splash some water on my rolled-up jeans. I groaned inwardly, but ignored it for Roxas's sake. After all, where I despised every source of water other than drinking and bath water, contrastingly, if given the chance, I'm sure Roxas would love to be a merman, to put it lightly. "Where you can smell the sea and taste the sea salt…" I offered my sweetheart our favorite kind of ice cream bar. "You picking up what I'm putting down?"_

"_I thought it was 'Got it memorized?' " Roxas was either extremely bothered by this or by the grand mission at hand, as his eyebrows were deeply furrowed and you could actually see the creases of his now-flawed forehead. Could the fact that I didn't say my catchphrase really bother him _that_ much?_

"_Can't I change it up, sweetheart?" I felt it was okay to bury my nose in his neck; I could hear him chuckle and try to push me away. _

"_Axe—! Axel, stop!" He giggled, "If you push me anymore, I'll fall and get an ass-full of water." I pulled away, slight shock dancing across my face. Roxas isn't one to cuss. Was I really rubbing off on him _that _much?_

_I had to make that known. "Okay, Rox, don't do that."_

_He crossed his arms and pouted playfully, only having to break this stance to bite into his beloved ice cream. "Don't do what?" And he pronounced the 'h' in 'what,' a peeve of mine, and he knew it._

"_Don't curse, please. It's so… un-Roxas-like. You're too sweet to be saying those types of things!" I brushed my thumb along his flawless cheekbone._

"_You are, too." He smirked, taking another quick bite of his ice cream before resuming his pout._

"_Well, honey, you see that I've got a reputation to be angry and demanding and all that stuff. You have a reputation for being kind, sweet, gentle… Now only you know that I can be kind and stuff, y'know? Only you know that. You… You don't have an mean side to you. You're always kind and sweet and gentle. …I keep my jerkish reputation to keep others away from you."_

"_So you don't want me having any friends…?"_

"_No, sweetie," I pinched his chin between my index and thumb. "I like to do people-watching. I observe people. It's what I'm good at—"_

"_So you're a gambler?"_

"_N-No… Lux's a gambler, Roxas, and he can do that too, but he only looks for quirks in a person; signs of nervousness. I look for certain personality traits in a person. I look for signs of independence, courage, kindness, genteel, a gentle-nature—"_

"_You said 'gentle' twice."_

"_No, no." I brushed a finger across Roxas's lips. This may look like a pain; raising someone with no memory of anything and everything, but it's a cute experience being able to teach him things. I frankly enjoy it; I love that quizzical look on his face when he's confounded by the simplest of things, and the sweetly surprised look on his face when I explain things to him. "Genteel means sophisticated and classy, where gentle means calm and kind and having a light sort of touch about you."_

"_So… Luxord is genteel where you are gentle?"_

"_There you go, sweetheart. So, where were we? oh, right. I try to look for good traits and bad traits about people—and I judge that by my own agenda—and if they look generally good, like how Marley and Zex were, I'm the same way to them as I am to you; I try to invite them and be kind and courteous. But if it's someone like Vexen, who I know is a bad sort of person, or someone like Dem, who I'm not too sure how to categorize, I'm generally abrasive and hesitant about letting them around you."_

"_So, if you're inviting towards them, you know they're gonna hang out with you and, thus, hang out with me…? And those that you're mean towards, you know that they won't like you and stay away from us?"_

"_That was brilliant, Rox. That's exactly my strategy." It was amazing that he not only pieced two and two together, he solved for 'x.' _

"_That's kinda micromanaging… isn't it?" He pouted, and this was confusing to me. It was revealed as he muttered, "You do that all for me…?"_

"_Well, yes and no. I do that for you, yes, but I also do it for me. I've been doing that since high school. I do it to make friends only with the people I want to. And now, it's a double-whammy; I do it so that _I_ only get the friend that I know will treat me right, and that passes on to you."_

_Roxas continued to look glum. "So you still don't want me making friends…"_

_I was puzzled by this response. "What makes you think that, sweetheart?"_

"_Well, what if I suddenly came to you with a new friend that I made all by myself? What would you do then?"_

_I nodded slowly, finally understanding the source of his upset. "Ah… I see. So you're talking about people like Lexaeus. People I know nothing about, but have generally a good demeanor?" Roxas nodded, a bit confused by the last statement. "Well, I'll try to be nice to them, but I won't be like how I am with you. It's like when Zex and Marley first were my friends. I was nice, but I didn't show the entirety of my kindness. I'm willing to invite them in, but am not afraid to push them out until they prove to me that they don't deserve to."_

"_So you're okay, but you still kinda edgy about them?"_

"_Until they prove otherwise, you're correct."_

"_Wow," He breathed, plopping himself on a patch of dry sand once we moved more inland. "It's interesting to know how your mind works, Axel."_

_I chuckled at this as he rested his head on my shoulder once I'd laid down. "Is it, now? Why?"_

"_To know that you're just so good at picking the right people…" I could feel his lips part on my skin as he smiled, kissing me gently._

"_Whoever said I was good at that…?" I muttered inwardly, yet Roxas didn't hear it. I took the moment to lock his statement away for later, then combed through his plush, golden locks._

_He scoot up to capture my lips, then settled himself on the sand between my shoulders and face, my red spikes brushing against him. "I love you, Axel." He muttered in my ear._

_I breathed contentedly, drawing my hand along his spine. "I love you too, sweetheart."_

_Axel's Journal: Day 1179_

The redhead woke to find his eyes awash with tears, a silver form before him. The soil underneath him was purplish in nature, stinking of decaying cadavers. He smelled faint pumpkin in the distance as his eyesight aligned itself, making out the form before him to be a very frantic Zexion. "Oh dear Lord, thank you! You're alright!" He threw his arms around the redhead unexpectedly, brushing away some of his tears.

"Z-Zex…? You-You…! Oh, God!" Coherency lost to him, the fiery Nobody returned his hug. After all, he hadn't seen the teen in a whole year. "You're not… You haven't died…?"

"No," Zexion whispered. "I had been sent to this area, and it was barricaded since."

"Um… Zex, can I ask where I am and how you found me…?" Axel's mind was still dazed, only the thoughts of his traitorous once-friend and his lost love engulfing his mind.

"Of course," The teen removed his glasses, letting them hang off the top of his shirt. It was here that Axel realized that the boy wasn't wearing his cloak, and that they were in a black cave, only given light through the fire, roasting something above it, before them. The cave walls shone a charcoal gray and Axel made out Zexion's cloak draped over a stray, taller boulder. "I was stranded in this godforsaken town, here, as you know. This is Halloween Town. I was on my daily hunt for the creatures that roam around here—"

"You… hunted by yourself?"

"I was trapped here for a whole year, Axel, now I'd appreciate it if you used common sense before you speak." The redhead twitched; it seems after a whole year of being shanghaied in 'this godforsaken town,' his wit hadn't wavered at least. "Now, I had not been able to catch any scents besides those that fall behind the barricade—and that is how I knew where to hunt—and when I was able to catch your familiar, burnt scent, I knew it was you. I found you unconscious just before the barricade, tears beginning to wash your eyes. I took you here, but couldn't wake you." The teen removed the roasted, rodent-like creatures from the rotisserie he created. He offered one to his fellow prisoner. "Would you care for one?"

"Erhm…" Axel, although hesitant, took the creature and just stared at it, dumbfounded. "What is it…?" He asked cautiously.

"A hot fudge sundae," Zexion explained in a mocking tone, tearing a bit from his. "Now just eat it. You've been unconscious for a whole day, and it's about the only food you'll be able to find."

"But… But why…?" Axel muttered as he took a precautious nibble from his 'food.' It wasn't the best sort of food he could find, but hell, as long as it didn't kill him. "Why are you here…? How did _you_ get here?"

This question sprung immediate concern through the silvery-locked teen. "Wh-Where's Roxas?!" He cried suddenly.

_This_ question befell the man before him to tears, cupping his mouth to muffle his tears. "N-No… I forgot. You… You weren't there." He smiled falsely, tears continuing to escape his emerald eyes. "…He's gone."

"Wh-What?!" Zexion stopped his eating. "What…?! N-No!"

"Relax, Zex. He's not dead… but he might as well be…" Axel smiled glumly.

"Care… to explain…? I can understand if you don't—"

"Naw, that's alright. It was sometime between three weeks ago and yesterday, but Saïx… he changed him. I don't know exactly what went down—and I'm sure Vexen's involved in it—" That name alone made the silvery-haired teen wince. "But now Roxas's lost his memory. He doesn't remember anyone, or anything." The tears became crippling as the redheaded teen choked out, "He doesn't remember _us_."

"Oh, Axel…" Zexion gasped, his eyes beginning to fill with tears himself. "It's all my fault…"

Once these words had echoed through Axel's ears, he could no longer control his feelings. Fire spat from his lips as his fists ignited. "WHAT?!" He shouted, pinning his friend against the wall. "You're the reason this happened?! You're the reason HE'S GONE!?"

"Axel… n-no… I never meant for this to happen…!" Zexion stuttered, fear overwhelming him.

"How the hell can you say that?! It's all your fault and you never meant for it to happen?!"

"I was set up… by Saïx and… and Xemnas." The fearful teen breathed, regaining his calm when Axel's grip relaxed. "They instructed me to do reconnaissance in Twilight Town a year ago… the day that you two kissed."

Axel sighed, understanding. "And they told you to do recon right on the station tower?"

"Y-Yes… they had me spy on you two… and… well, I saw you two as you kissed and… showed love to one another. And I don't mean sex, as you two didn't have it… but when the corridor appeared after you two left, I was immediately transported to the Round Room where Saïx and Xemnas awaited. They threatened my life if I didn't tell, but I fought them and failed. I-I'm so, so sorry. I hadn't any idea it would come to this…"

Axel swallowed his anger, Roxas's light words enveloping his mind, relaxing him to calm. "I… I understand. But I don't understand why you fought them…"

"Because the bond that you shared with him… it was so sacred. I didn't want to allow them to break that. I'm so sorry…" Axel hugged the man in response, holding each other for some time before Zexion's tears thinned and he realized the taller man wrapping around his body. With a pang of guilt, he pulled away. "I'm sorry… I can't…"

"Zexion… do you think we can save him?" Axel murmured, distant.

"I… I mean, no one said it's impossible. Recall the Keyblade Master when we resided in Castle Oblivion; no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't keep his memories from him. They were not gone; they were simply lost inside of him. I don't truly believe you can eliminate a memory. I believe that they will always live inside of you, just locked away tightly, in this new Roxas's circumstance."

"So… there's hope…?"

"Perhaps. If I only knew the situation surrounding this new child. I could be able to understand just how far his memories lie in his mind. All I'd need is the research data to compare… damn!"

"What? What is it?" Axel was alert from the teen's sudden hiss.

"I'd need to be within the Castle to obtain the data from the Keyblade Master when he was in Castle Oblivion. Only the computer database there has the necessary information. I have heard that Naminé put in her own testimony about memories themselves. If we could get that, we'd be able to know how to piece Roxas's memories back together!"

"Or… y'know, just get Naminé herself."

"That isn't possible. I don't know where her current location is." Zexion growled, stress obviously sketched on his face. "Atop all that, for some unknown reason, she does not carry a scent. Again I say, that isn't possible."

"And it's not possible to get into the Castle either!" Axel cried.

"Well," A slight smirk drew across Zexion's face. "As long as there is darkness, I can be unseen."

Axel mirrored that smirk with a face laced in confusion. "So… why hadn't you done that a year ago?" He murmured.

"That is simple, my friend." The illusionist muttered, rather upset. "Saïx was on watch for me. If I had no ulterior motive for returning, then I would certainly lose my life to his judgment. In simpler terms, I had no motivation."

"Then whadda 'bout Marley? He wasn't motive enough?"

"Sadly… no. Although he is the world to me, I simply felt his life would be in danger if I happened to involve him in my reappearance. So, for his sake more so than mine, I stayed… 'dead.' " Zexion clutched his arm, scratching at it ever so often. "But now that Roxas's life is in jeopardy… as well as yours… and _now_, it seems, that my life matters—as I am the only individual of our pair with the means to do such a thing—I… I will do my best to get that data."

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**A/N:** So _that's_ where Zexion went, wasn't it? Well, this is a setup for a Zexion-bound chapter! Yay for those fanpeople!

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	9. Chapter IX: Infiltration

**A/N: **Yay! A chapter with Sexy-Zexy! }:3 I just realized that my other Phoenix Wright story is quickly outmatching this one… (^^') But that can only mean good things! It means I'm moving onward and outward! Gah… I love Marluxia's character in this story (and no, he's not a boy-hungry pedo).

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**Chapter IX: Infiltration**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1180_

The teen, hidden by the darkness surrounding him, moved along the shadows toward the Castle that Never Was. Once inside, he heard this: "It's alright, Mar-Mar." And the illusionist, invisible amidst the shadows, took every effort possible to hold back his tears. "I mean, we're gonna find him too."

The Graceful Assassin could no longer hold back his distraught anger. "You said that the last time!" He cried. "You said that… with Zexion… and now he's gone!"

"Marley…" By the serene scent, Zexion could identify the familiar voice accompanying his Marluxia as Demyx. "It's gonna be okay. We'll find him." The sandy blonde teen tried to remain confident.

"It's been a year, Dem…" Marluxia groaned hopelessly. "I don't think he's ever returning." Though the teen himself could not see the scene before him, the shadows did not lie; Marluxia was pacing around frantically, his friend desperately trying to keep pace.

"Marluxia, he needs you to hope for him. He's out there somewhere, probably in an impossible situation, waiting for you to save him."

"How long am I going to have to wait, Demyx?" Marluxia's voice wavered on tears. "It's been a whole year… and I don't want any more false hope."

"Just two more months… please, Marley."

Marluxia made his way past the shadows that held Zexion, but stopped before him, unaware of his beloved's presence. "I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, Demyx, but if I can't hold him in my arms, there isn't much I can do to believe you."

"Marluxia…" Zexion whispered, freezing immediately afterwards as the man before him stirred.

"What is it…?" Demyx asked from out of sight, noting at Marluxia's hesitation.

For a while, the honey-haired man just stared at the shadow before him. He shook his head vigorously. "N-Nothing. I've got to go…" And Marluxia grabbed the shadow before him, hurrying off, but never leaving the darkness. He finally escaped into the XI room, throwing the shadow into the light.

The form melted into that of the man's long lost lover. "M-Marley…" He stuttered, shocked by the display.

His lover was not amused. "You're alive." He stated rather bluntly, not a single hint of emotion in his voice. Because of this, the silvery-haired illusionist felt uneasy.

"Yes…" Zexion muttered, clutching his arm again nervously.

"How long…?"

"Um…" The scheming Nobody did not know how to respond. "I would believe seventeen years…?"

"No, Zexion. I mean, how long were you there? How long were you watching us?" Marluxia's line of questioning was not emotional; it was much like an interrogation.

"Marluxia, I'd love to explain—I really would—but there is a larger problem at hand and I must go…!" Zexion made his way for the shadows again, but was stopped; his arm was gripped tightly, almost bruising, by his lover. "Marluxia—!"

"You will stay and you will explain." He demanded icily.

"I really have something of more desperate importance…!" The Cloaked Schemer tugged feebly at the arm that bound him.

The man before him remained stoic. "Really? More important than the love of your life?"

"Marluxia… that is because I know our love lasts! I knew that once I returned to you, I'd return to your arms! I'm trying to save a relationship that was cheated!" The teen hissed.

The man loosened his grip, shocked. "Wh-What…?"

"Axel. You said it yourself that he was missing." Zexion growled, massaging the sore spot. "And how has Roxas been acting since then?"

The honey-haired Assassin made the connection, "Ah, yes… even before his disappearance, Roxas had been acting a bit… off." The graceful man cupped his chin in his palm and explained, "He had been acting as he did his first few days, minus the acute nervousness. It wasn't that he was nervous; he simply didn't like talking. And it seemed all he did was mission after mission, only stopping to eat and bathe and sleep. Atop all that, when Axel disappeared, he didn't seem to care. He didn't mourn, he didn't have a loving determination… it seems as though he's forgotten all about his better half…"

"And that is exactly what happened." Zexion crossed his arms, removing his glasses and pinning it on his cloak. "Roxas was… 'reprogrammed,' you could say. His memory was washed by Saïx and Xemnas. The operation was conducted by Vexen, another conspirator. Axel learned of this, as to be expected, and was banished by Saïx upon losing to a fight with him."

Marluxia gasped, cupping his mouth with his hand. "You're saying… that you were banished for the same reason…? But Roxas was… err… 'reprogrammed' only days ago!"

The silvery-haired lover brushed a finger across his boyfriend's lips. "And there is where the problem has arisen in you hauling me off like this. I need to find the truth. That is what I was here for today. To find out what happened in that year's span, to find out how Roxas got this way and finally, how to reverse it. All can be answered with some research and observation." The teen replaced his glasses, giving them a push as they glinted. "I won't be gone long, my sweet. I promise." Marluxia looked upset. Atop all the madness around him, he _still_ did not know the reasoning behind his lover's disappearance.

The honey-haired assassin brought his lover in for a slow, appreciative kiss. "You will return, my sweet, silken flower."

"I will. Once this is all over, I promise I won't leave your arms." The illusionist turned to leave, but twisted back around to ask a favor. "Marluxia, they don't know you know I'm here. Can I ask you to watch over Vexen, Saïx and Xemnas?" The Schemer created a purple patch of darkness on the wrist of Marluxia's cloak. "Let me know if they're approaching the computer room?"

The Graceful Assassin bit his lower lip. "I hate that you'll be in danger… why can't I just find it for you?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt because of me." Zexion nearly cried. "I… I need to get this information to Axel soon. I'll need to disappear again. Besides monitoring the area for me, pretend I'm not even here."

And it was here that the young illusionist melted back away into his domain in the shadows, reviewing the area to aware himself of the locations of the possible enemies: Vexen, Xemnas and Saïx. Number Four was residing in his laboratory hidden underneath his bedroom; Zexion shuddered at the painful memories locked away there. Xemnas was in his workroom doing the mysteries that only he is aware of, and Saïx was in the Gray Area, monitoring the missions, as usual. The silvery-haired teen sank under the door to the computer room, sliding the lock shut. He sat himself down onto a computer seat, logging in as Marluxia. He then opened the file marked Castle_Oblivion_ , unlocking the secret to reawakening the Keyblade Master's memories, as testified by the Nobody witch, Naminé.

'There is no way to truly eliminate a memory. There are, however, many ways to lock them up. Depending on the degree of the method, these memories may be more and more difficult to unlock. I have realized that it is much like a puzzle; if you show such a person items, etc. of the past they have forgotten, it acts like a piece for completing their incomplete puzzle. This does not always work, however, as I have seen. Through very amateur methods, this would work. Those that are more experienced, however, will not let the most generic of things to complete the puzzle they've disarrayed. This was observed in Castle Oblivion. The conspirators involved were very skilled in what they do. They were able to make sure that Sora would not be able to recognize even his two best friends before him. This kind of magic that was used was very difficult for me to do. Since, they have harnessed my memory powers. Lord knows who they will use it on. To reverse it, you must defeat that in which dealt the memory wipe from you. In the case of Sora, Castle Oblivion was owned by Marluxia. His defeat led to his memory returning. If you are to regain such a person's memory, then you must either do this, or bring back the objects of a memory that occurred only once or twice. In Sora's case, we used Squall and Cloud, etc. to return his memory. Good luck to whomever it is has this problem. —Naminé'

The teen sighed, taken back. In order to regain Roxas's memory, Axel would have to defeat Saïx—the man who defeated him and sent him to Halloween Town without a single corridor to aid him. There had to be some other way! Axel had not been able to defeat his adversary… and without that ability, Roxas was sure to be doomed. The Schemer took no more time to hesitate; the strong scent of ice in the air close by. He printed the document quickly.

Zexion was soon alerted. "Baby, you need to get out of there soon. Just hide in the shadows, 'cause Vexen insisted on using that room, and I really don't want him to get suspicious. I hope you got everything you need. I love you." Nodding emptily at this, the young illusionist escaped into the caress of the darkness, moving his way along towards the XI room. There, he found his lover sitting silently at his bedside. He delivered a shadowy kiss to his overworked beloved before melting into the light. "Did you allocate Roxas?"

The Graceful Assassin was momentarily shocked by his scheming lover's sudden presence. "Y-Yes, my sweet, he is in the Gray Area, relaxing under Saïx's orders."

"Under his orders? What do you mean?"

"Roxas has been overworking himself, according to Saïx. He has told him to relax until he is told to do another mission." The Assassin recalled the scene of the golden blonde child resting comfortably along the white couch, his mind now at ease without the hassle of the missions ahead.

"Isn't it good that he busies himself?" Zexion muttered inwardly. "Never mind. The Gray Area has many shadows. I'll be able to spy on him until then. …Will you speak to him?"

"Me?" Marluxia was still confused as his roll as Zexion's other half.

"Yes. Whilst I am unable to be seen, will you interview the boy on my behalf?"

Protest rampaged through the honey-haired man but, nevertheless, his one-and-only was asking this of him in a time of desperation. "I… I suppose so, but if Saïx is there, and my questioning gets… suspicious, what will I do?"

"…Is he asleep?" As always, Zexion asked seemingly out of the blue.

"Um… yes, I believe he was asleep on one of the couches." Marluxia, still dazed by his lover's return, did not seem capable of piecing two and two together.

"Then if you need to draw him away from Saïx, go to the Gray Area and say that you'll return the boy to his bedroom to rest. Specify that you're concerned about the couch's incapability to support his back and that it is detrimental for his overall health. Make sure you give plenty of reasons to remove him, if necessary." The Cloaked Schemer pecked his lover on his nose. "I'll be in the shadows, watching you return him to his bed."

The Graceful Assassin loosed a long sigh. "For you and Axel's sakes, I hope this works…" The conspiring man straightened himself, readying to leave his room to the daring mission ahead.

"Oh, and Marley—!" The compliant lover turned around to his brilliant-minded boyfriend, awaiting further instructions and/or hints. "Vexen's in on this conspiracy as well. If he happens to be in the Gray Area, you'll have to be aware," The teen melted away into the shadows before delivering a spectral kiss.

Entering the Gray Area, the honey-haired man quickly allocated the golden blonde teen, resting comfortably along a couch, as he recollected. Lexaeus was also in the lounge alongside Saïx, but this was swiftly altered once he disappeared in a dark corridor, sent off on a mission. Vexen, thankfully, was not present. As the graceful man lifted the unconscious child into his arms, he, to no surprise, was halted by Saïx. "And what do you think you're doing?" The Diviner nearly cried, but quieted once Roxas stirred.

"I'm taking him to his rightful resting place." Marluxia responded smoothly. "A couch is no good place for such an important child to rest. He needs a proper bed."

Unaware of Marluxia's affiliation with Zexion, Saïx thought nothing more of this. "Hm, I suppose that makes perfect sense. Alright, take him to his bed and please, remove his shoes before you do so."

Marluxia smiled, calmly shuffling the child into the XIII room. He removed the boy's shoes before nestling him into his bed. For whatever possessed him, the man stroked caringly through the teen's golden blonde locks. Although this boy is as cold and ruthless as Larxene now that he is without his memory, sleep recaptured the innocence that all men, women, children—murderers, traitors… scientists, students, bus boys, drug dealers… Hispanic, White… tall, short—all share. He wasn't aware of the circumstances around him. Whether or not this was the boy that Axel fell in love with, he still seemed exactly the same as he dreamed. Finally, Zexion emerged from the darkness. "What are you doing? Wake him up!" He hissed.

The Assassin sighed. "Regardless of what state he may be in, he is always innocent in his sleep." He muttered dreamily, gazing at the helpless child.

"And…?" Zexion was impatient; if his lover knew of the actions that this new Roxas did—or rather, _didn't_—he would understand his frustration. "Look, Axel doesn't want to wait. _I_ don't want to wait. I'm trying to get back home, I'd hope you'd understand. Regardless of the state he is in, he is still unaware of the fact that he has a boyfriend that is waiting patiently for me to return with this document and the child's testimony so he can restore the boy to his former state. If you don't mind, I'd like him to reunite with him as soon as possible."

"So? What do you want me to do?" Marluxia was just as upset. Sleep had always been a sacred ritual to him.

"Wake him and interview him. Ask him generic questions that would stimulate the original Roxas." Zexion instructed, fading into his dark abode.

"But why? We already know he's fucked up from the original." The honey-haired man crossed his arms as the blunt statement left his lips.

"Yes, I'm aware that he's 'fucked up,' but we don't know to how much of an extent." Zexion crossed his arms to mimic his lover. As the two men spoke, their words entered and exited the boy's subconscious ears. His eyes fluttered for a moment, then snapped at the reality of his situation: here, he knew of the fact that Number Eleven was there; he recognized the man's voice. But accompanying that voice was one that was very unfamiliar. "Now just wake the boy up so we can speak to him finally!"

Roxas could not control his reaction to such fear. His sacred weapons appeared in his hands, and he slashed at the figure nearest him.

Marluxia loosed a howl. "Roxas?! Goddamn!" He rose from his seat beside the boy and summoned his flower petals, creating his weapon, Graceful Dahlia, from them, readying himself to defend from the boy.

"Who—?!" The boy seemed maniacal. His weapons were raised towards Number Eleven, yet his vision wandered to his true adversary: the missing man. "Who is there with you?!" He cried.

"What? I-I don't understand what you're talking about." The Assassin hoped that Roxas would be, admittedly, too stupid to understand what was going on. "I think out loud sometimes…"

He did, indeed, not know the circumstances, but his fear forced him to piece together the answer. "Liar!" He cried. "It's not your voice!" The golden blonde teen loosed a blast of light towards the darkest areas of his room. It took every ounce of strength in the Cloaked Schemer not to scream from fear. If one of those chance blasts were to connect with him, he would be exposed. Roxas would surely report such an event to Saïx, who would in turn kill he and Axel. He had to escape somehow. "Who is it?! Who's there?"

Marluxia simply could not find the lies to tell the boy. He, instead, sent a shockwave of magenta towards the shorter male who, in turn, moved in to attack the man up close. Roxas knew that the man's scythe was useless unless he was distanced. Zexion stood helpless as the two fought. Every ounce of his mind reminded him, painfully, that he could not intervene. The Assassin had no other choice but to hiss out to his beloved. "Leave! He mustn't see you!"

Eyes targeting the Kingdom Heart just beyond his reach, the cerulean-locked man stood. Just beyond his hopes and dreams was the victory that each one of the thirteen members wished for. His daydreaming hopes were interrupted as a disturbing sound befell his ears; he heard the sounds of two struggling. One was the shrill scream of his prize. Eyes wide, the Diviner quickly made his way to the XIII room, summoning his weapon from the moonlight before entering. "Eleven, what the hell are you doing?! Cease this fighting this instant!" He cried, threatening the Assassin at the receiving end of his blade.

The eleventh Nobody took the moment to calm his nerves. He smirked, "Next time, learn to control this maniacal pet of yours."

"P-Pet?!" The cerulean-locked man snarled. "How dare you…!"

"Well, whatever creature he happens to be, learn to control him. He attacked me like something inhuman, that's for sure." His weapons disappearing into the magenta petals, Marluxia crossed his arm, his lip twitching in dissatisfaction.

"So what exactly happened?"

"There's another man in here! He was talking to another man that wasn't here! He said I was crazy!" Roxas cried, panting, his blade indicating the assailant.

"So you're saying he was talking to an invisible figure?" Saïx's lips curled a slow grin. "What were they saying?"

Roxas strained for the memory to return to him. "They… They said they wanted to talk to me. They said I was crazy…" The term 'fucked up' did not register in his head as 'abnormal' yet.

"Do you have a rebuttal, Eleven?" Saïx crossed his arms, glaring at the Graceful Assassin.

Marluxia growled, realizing just how much of a situation he was thrown into. He couldn't even tell if his beloved was safely away from the building. "N-No… not on the crazy thing, but I never did talk to anyone. I just thought that Roxas changed. Dramatically. And there's no explanation to that, is there?"

The Diviner simply smirked. "You'll need to be coming with me, Number Eleven."

"And why is that?" Marluxia slapped away the hand that attempted to grab him. "I demand to know. Why can't you just tell me in front of this boy here?"

"Ah… because he needn't know the answer I am to produce." The words drifted slickly from the cerulean-haired man's lips. "Now go, Roxas." He demanded. In response, the boy mechanically nodded and marched out of the room. "You know why he's changed, don't you?"

"Of course," Marluxia smirked. "Are you going to fight me over it?"

Saïx mirrored the honey-haired man with a similar smirk; his, though, bore a sinister glare. "I needn't waste my time." He readied his claymore at the man and swiftly dispatched him. A word slipped from the Assassin's lips before his collapse. One that the Diviner did not bother to hear as he collected the unconscious body and faded away.

This word, however, was the sole difference between life and death for a young illusionist. He drew in a sharp breath to hold back his tears, escaping along the shadows, tears flaking away as he did so, that sole warning haunting the silvery-haired man as he fled. "Run…"

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**A/N: **I honestly forgot most of this chapter, so I haven't really anything to say, besides 'As quickly as Marley's in, he's out.' ^^' I really wanted to use him more, but I _needed_ Zexion more than him… so Mar-Mar's kinda minor, compared to the other three.

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	10. Chapter X: To Find a Way Out

**A/N:** Gawd, I haven't checked this story in such a long time... I really don't know what to say about it anymore. :/ That's why the formatting for my later stories are that much easier... :/ Sorry for the late update; I've been working on my other story too much.

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**Chapter X: To Find a Way Out**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1181_

As Zexion returned, Axel was calmly tending the fire, chewing at one of the native rodents. "So, how did it go?" He asked, a mouth half-full.

Too distraught to chastise, Zexion whimpered, "Roxas isn't the same, but I have the document." He muttered, handing it over to the older male. "It isn't much, but it says we have to defeat Saïx in order to restore Roxas to his original state."

The redhead growled. "Damn… if I had only been more prepared… he'd already be alright by now…" Frustrated, he threw his meal into the fire, gazing aimlessly as it burned. "So what can we do now…? Unless I can get stronger, I'm never going to get Roxas back." His eyesight finally met the still-distraught form of Zexion, and he felt it imperative to ask, "Something wrong, buddy?"

Zexion hesitated, the illusionist's mind elsewhere, then sighed. "Axel… they took Marluxia…"

"They… They what?" Shock laced Axel's face.

"He found out I was in the Castle. He protected me… and now he's been captured." Zexion cupped his lips with his cloaked hand, forcing his tears back. "What are we going to do now…?"

"We have to get out of here. That much I know." Axel crossed his arms as he rose, determination gleaming in his eyes. "I know a route in Twilight Town that Saïx can't find us." Though the thought of Zexion's love being harmed in Saïx's overall plot boiled the man's adverse rage, the thought of Roxas—the calming, yet stern, advise resonating in his mind—forced him to relax. He had to bring out the Roxas he knew and loved from that… _thing_. That stubborn, persistent golden blonde _had_ to be in that soul somewhere… didn't it?

"Do you now?" The illusionist was distant as Axel spoke, his mind focused on his beloved. He could only imagine the torture the man he loved was facing, taking each and every punishment to reserve the secrets he learned to keep the Schemer and Flurry, and therefore the Key—his three best, inseparable friends—safe. "How so?"

"Simple, this area isn't monitored by the Organization. If we were to create a corridor here, no one would know, right?" The emeralds of Axel's eyes glistened. Not only was he determined to escape, he was also restless to stump the most brilliant member of the Organization, bar possibly Vexen.

But, there would never be a day that the Schemer would allow Axel to do such a thing. "So, you're implying that we create a corridor here connecting to another off-route area in Twilight Town?" The boy pushed up his glasses as he spoke.

Axel growled playfully. Alas, he could not defeat the mighty brain of the sixth Nobody. "Yeah, that's what I'm planning. I bet you can't guess where, though!" The fiery Nobody felt that this playfulness was essential into retaining his sanity. It kept his mind off of Roxas, and yet…

_"Okay, Mr. Smart-Ass, let's see you do this! I'm thinking of a word, and you have to guess it."_

_Roxas's smile hid a sinister intent; one he would ensure I could not determine. "Alright, so I want you to say each of the letters of the alphabet from 'A' to 'Z,' making a… hmm… about a one-second interval between each letter, alright?"_

_At the time, I hadn't the slightest idea as to what he was planning to do with this, so I foolishly agreed. "Uh… sure?"_

_"Okay, and I'll stop you on the letter I think it is. If I'm right, you'll restart your letters. I'm going to attempt to spell the word out, okay?" His smiled aimed at my palm as he took it._

_"So, you're gonna try to read my palm and stuff too?" I smirked slyly. His whole 'psychic' thing I didn't buy for an instant, but I had to admit I liked his catchphrase. "So if, per se, I happen to go from 'A' to 'Z,' like you want, and it starts with, like, a 'W,' you'll stop me and make me start over, 'till I get to say, 'I' or something…?"_

_"That's exactly it, Axel." His grin never faded. The chance to beat me with his 'psychic powers' never letting that smile disappear. "I'm hoping that your word doesn't start with 'W-I.' "_

_"No, no. I'll change it. I promise." I closed my eyes to think of a word—the perfect word. If he were to uncover this word, it'd bring up his spirits. _If_ that is. I opened my eyes slowly. "Okay, I've got it. And it's the most beautiful word in the world."_

_Roxas's hands clapped together. "Alright! Now start with your letters." And he uttered his favorite catchphrase, "Time to bring this secret to light."_

_I announced the letters slowly, just as he had wanted, his oceanic eyes constantly locked on my face as I spoke. It took everything in me not to blush as he focused so intently. I must've looked like a complete idiot. And I'll admit, the kid was good. He guessed the first two letters, 'R' and 'O,' then stopped for a brief moment, trying to figure it out. 'Rollerblade?' 'Rocket?' He was stumped… until he got the next letter. _

_" 'X?' " He guessed upon reading my… facial expressions, I guess? I nodded, furthering his confusion. "But 'R-O-X?' " His eyes narrowed in confusion. "But there's no word that starts with 'R-O-X…' " He finally gasped softly, "But… Axel… that's my name…"_

_I smiled. For the first time, I didn't care that someone beat me. After all, I made him feel absolutely special. "I did say it was the most beautiful word in the world, didn't I?"_

_He laughed softly, a smile growing on his face. Unable to find the words to make a sentence, he hugged himself to my chest while I combed through the back of his golden blonde locks, returning his embrace._

"The outskirts of the forest, correct?"

The fiery redhead finally escaped his daydream, not wanting to, of course. "Wh-What…?" He muttered, yearning to be absorbed in his memories.

"Axel, now is no time to visit La-La Land! We have to get moving! The area outside of the Organization's eye in Twilight Town is the outskirts of the forest surrounding the mansion, correct?" Zexion was noticeably irritated, the tips of his fingers embracing his forehead.

"Y-Yeah… sorry, Zex." The older teen apologized as the mission at hand returned to his mind. He didn't want to reminisce in memories… Axel only wanted to create more of them… with the Roxas he loved. Lollygagging would surely hinder that, and he knew it. "It _is_ time that we go, after all."

"But you and I must remember not to leave the uncharted areas. That is imperative." Zexion glared at him. "So that means it is imperative that you do _not_ visit that station tower, despite its place in your memory."

Axel sighed. His entire intention of visiting that sacred town in his heart was to visit that tower… But, again, Zexion was right; although the place was special to him, the fiery teen could make sure that it is special later. Right now, he had a mission to do. "I… I understand…" He murmured, pain wavering his voice. The older male then created a dark corridor, the receiving end being a lush green forest. "Let's go," He commanded in a melancholy tone. The two moved through the corridor, the walls, ceiling and floor a dark black and purple mixture that they were used to. As they moved through, both were silent as they were left with their thoughts, each filled with paranoia over their newly lost lovers. Zexion's mind was filled with the thoughts of his Marluxia being whipped, beaten… whatever a Luna Diviner could do to attempt to siphon answers from him…

The Flurry of Dancing Flames's mind was focused on something much more sinister. His thoughts were engulfed in a scenario as well; yet dwelling inside of his scenario, his beloved was not innocent to his crime, as the eleventh Nobody was in Zexion's…

The scene melted to the boy, his golden blonde locks glistening in the wake of the destroyed Twilight Town—the town he once held beloved—now roaring with the eruption of flames; smoke and soot dancing along the bleeding sky-scape. His signature weapons shimmered, his Oblivion shining menacingly, Oathkeeper glowing a faint red, reflecting the calamity its master basked in. The teen, who the daydreamer once held so dear to him, stood hunched over, his bangs obscuring his face, his hair wild and feathered out. Between his bangs, there wasn't even a glimmer of the original child hinting in his eyes. Just insanity; his still-beautiful oceans boring straight into the daydreamer's soul, a white grin gleaming across his pale face. There were the sounds of the roar of the panic in the city, the crackle of fire about him, the feeble sirens of fire engines and ambulances… but the sound most notable—the presiding sounds now hollowed and blurred—was the low, maniacal laugh emerging from deep in the boy's throat. It was that of something otherworldly; no human being, especially not the tender Roxas, could make such a noise. He simply stood there, cackling, and the redhead could only hope that something, _anything_, would break him from the hellish nightmare. _No… not Roxas. Roxas would never do something as horrible as this… He's still alive… somewhere, he's still alive, fighting. Fighting to regain himself… right?_

Finally, _finally_, after what seemed like an eternity, Zexion shook the man. "Axel, good Lord, finally. You're awake. You've been standing there like a zombie since we've gotten here." The silvery-locked teen's expression was a blur of irritation and concern.

_Wait… 'here?' Where's here?_ "Um… Zex, where are we?" No matter how the man tried, Axel could not stop himself from looking foolish.

The Schemer sighed, readjusting his glasses on his nose. "The forest, as you'd requested. …You were daydreaming through the whole journey, weren't you?"

Axel's lip twisted to a side, his brilliant friend out-mastering him yet again. "…That I was," But, as the stubborn man is, he wouldn't be humiliated without a fight. "But I saw you dazing off! Any explanation to _that_, Mr. Brainiac?" Axel's arms were crossed, ready to play foolishness again to get his mind away from the gravity of the situation.

The younger illusionist wouldn't have it. "Now isn't the time for that! You realize it's nighttime, right?" Zexion muttered, resuming his distant roll again. "Or… is that possible? It is _Twilight_ Town after all. Is it at all possible to be nighttime here?"

"Well, there's a sun-down in Twilight Town. When the sun rises, it stays there until it's ready to go back down into night." Axel answered in a very informative tone. This shifted, however, when his lips muttered out the next two words, his mind flooded in its shattered reminiscence. "I'd know…"

Zexion's eyes watched the man as the older Nobody's eyes faltered, wavering in its memories. The silvery-locked male sighed. "Axel… we can restore him. I know we can. I believe in Roxas; he's still in there, fighting. Fighting to reunite with you. Fighting to break free of Saïx's grasp." He rested a cloaked hand on his distraught friend's shoulder. "We'll get him back."

The older redhead finally met his friend's gaze as Zexion's cloaked thumb brushed the indigo tattoo before his emerald eyes. "Thanks, Zex." He tried to allow his words to make it up to the younger male. "And-And we'll get Marley out of there, too. Once we get Roxas back safely, we'll kick Saïx's ass and get Marley back too."

Unsuspectingly, the teen before him shed a few tears, the tormenting images of his beloved haunting his mind; the gentle thought of his rescue all but restoring his hopes. "Th-Thanks, Axel. But… we have to construct a plan first, in order to succeed."

"O-Okay, alright. You wanna go ahead and make a campfire?" Axel settled himself along a tree branch, his friend soon following afterwards.

"No, that isn't a good idea. Any sort of fire will catch unnecessary eyes. You see, the green of the forest will compliment the red of the fire, therein, the nature of complimentary colors is that they'd catch your attention in an instant… So I'd suggest covering your red locks with your hood, for now." Zexion explained, somewhat irritating his friend. _Jeez, can't this guy just speak English? Or is that too much to ask for?_ "So, um… now onto the plan."

The lack of light also seemed to fuel the redhead's growing irritation as he compliantly rested his hood on his head. Being a user of fire, he is not accustomed to complete darkness as the sixth Nobody before him. "I hate how there's no light here. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought this tree trunk was… I dunno, a bear or something…"

The younger Schemer heaved another long, dissatisfactory sigh. "I… I-I won't even bother to note the differences of that scenario… but here," The teen rested his cloaked hand on the knee of his friend, and, all at once, the area before him illuminated. It was as if Axel was looking through a blisteringly bright day through a rescuing pair of sunshades. The older male could actually decipher the trees from the bears, the sanctuary of the grass with the condemn of the road… "There," The silvery-locked Nobody removed his hand from the man's knee. "Can you see now?"

"Yup. That's an A-okay on your part." This piqued the Flurry's curiosity. Although the man did not want to bring up that name again, "Does that mean that Roxas can illuminate things too?"

"Well, of course. Besides perhaps you, he'd be the first person to ask for some light in a pitch-dark cave, correct?" The Schemer continued to reveal the powers of the lost child, and the more Axel wanted to hear, the less he did, as well. "As I can lift the darkness of night, I can darken areas as well. The same goes for that boy. He can illuminate areas, and also tone down brightness. He's like a transition lens."

As said, Axel's memories of his golden blonde sweetheart he knew and loved crossed his mind, as well as the very possible fact that he could now be using such powers for the likes of evil, and a knot in the redhead's stomach formed. "P-Please stop talking," The man demanded, his mind forcibly elsewhere. "I-I  
know that it's my fault that you spoke, but please stop. Now what was this plan of yours…?" Once again, Roxas's calm words entered his thoughts, and the redhead reevaluated his actions towards his best friend. _"Y'know, Axel, I've been noticing you've been incredibly cruel to people when you're being defensive of me… and I don't like it. Marluxia and Zexion are your best friends, but when I'm there, and I know you get defensive, you tend to be mean to them too. It's not good. Be the sweet person I know you are." And here, my little sweetheart pecked me on my cheek. "Pretty please? Just for me?"_ "If you're comfortable with your plan, you can go ahead and say it."

A quirk of the teen's, Zexion bit the tip of his glove and tugged on it; Marluxia once told Axel that it meant he was upset with his contrivance. "I… I don't know… I've tried and tried to decipher exactly what we're supposed to do… but unless Roxas gets into Twilight Town, then I'm practically forsaken to do this mission alone…" Axel knit his eyebrows, not too aware of Zexion's line of vexation. Understanding this, the silvery-haired teen attempted to explain to his friend, least-eloquent as possible, the reasoning for his worry. "If we were to open a dark corridor in the Castle that Never Was, anyone—including Saïx and Xemnas—could find us. Though this is not true for the World that Never Was, the simple fact that you cannot become… 'invisible,' as it were, is the problem. Anyone would be able to find you, and it is only you that can engage Roxas and educe the boy you know from this creature that Saïx created." The teen then noticed the confusion etched across Axel's face. "Ugh… 'educe' meaning 'draw out,' 'extract,' that sort of thing."

The redhead finally understood. "Ah… so therein lies our problem… you're saying that they'd find me too damned soon…" Zexion is capable of utilizing the powers of the darkness to help cloak himself as he journeys through the Castle unsuspected. Axel has no such power. If he were to enter the Castle that Never Was, it would be as if he was already handcuffed for Saïx to imprison.

"Exactly. And unless, somehow, Roxas manages to wrap his arms around a mission in this town, I'm afraid we're doomed." The teen was melancholy as he spoke.

Axel shook his head, distraught lingering just behind the emeralds of his irises. Roxas, his ever-so precious… what if that day never comes? What if no action is taken? The old Roxas is dying every passing moment… and yet there is nothing that can be done but wait. Wait, and pray.

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**A/N: **Not much happened in this chapter, I apologize. I know that a lot more happens in the next chapters to come, so just sit back, 'cause those chapters get pretty damned long.

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	11. Chapter XI: The Guardian Angels

**A/N: **This chapter is going to pave the way to the end. (Yes, sadly, it's coming to an end! T.T) No more spoilers than that!

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**Chapter XI: The Guardian Angels**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1180_

_Marluxia's Journal: Day 962_

_Zexion… is back. He is here on a mission: to revive the lost Roxas. Whilst it is true that he has been missing for a year, and that this would explain everything… I still feel like I don't have the whole picture. What in God's name happened to him? What happened to Axel? Did he disappear for the same reason? How did my little flower get involved in such affairs?_

_Before I could retrieve the answers to such questions, Zexion forced it upon me a seemingly out-of-the-blue request, and it, of course, involved a certain golden blonde light-wielder. I haven't much time left for this entry. Zexion has called me off again to interview the boy. I hope all goes well._

To accompany the sweat cascading down the stone walls surrounding them now was a fresh, sizable stain of blood. The Assassin coughed as more of the crimson fluid stained his cloak. Over him loomed the Diviner, his precious claymore leaned against a nearby table; he needed it not, he was going to enjoy every minute of torturing this man. It had always been in Marluxia to hold himself stoic. The possibility of breaking such a man was all too much to let slip by. "My entire mouth's bleeding now, are you content with yourself?" The younger male sneered. This delivered him another strike to his 'pretty face.' Despite how the man tried, the Diviner could not keep the Assassin's lips sealed. "Is… Is there even a point to this line of harassment?"

The grin plastered onto the cerulean-locked Nobody's face did not falter. "But of course. When do my plans not make sense?"

Marluxia smirked. "When they involve brainwashing an innocent sixteen-year-old boy; that is heartless foolishness."

The honey-haired man was struck again. "You keep opening your mouth, you keep getting struck. Now where did this assumption of Number Thirteen come from?"

"I did the math myself." Marluxia lied. "I realized how attached and defensive you were growing towards that boy only after his dramatic shift. Once he had become cold and ruthless, only _then_ did you pay him any heed, and heed you paid. You grew to be a father to this child, didn't you?" And the Assassin's smirk widened to a grin. "Not one to part with your creations, aren't you, Saïx?"

Although the strikes were serving no further use, this strike was out of pure fury. "And who is to say that _I_ was the creator of this new child? Perhaps he has gotten a change of heart? To see the mission at hand to get a heart instead of his fated destiny to wander the world as a lifeless shell?"

This statement made the honey-haired Assassin's blood boil. "You say he _was_ a lifeless shell? How could you look at the past and say that? He's as lifeless as any human being can—or rather, _can't_—be! No somebody or even a Nobody could act that way! And I'm certain that it was you! Roxas would never react so apathetically towards his two best friends! Zexion gone… and now Axel? He panicked when his friend disappeared a year ago! But now, suddenly, when his closest friend vanishes, he acts as if he never knew the man! It's insanity!" Marluxia's glare bore at the Diviner, who took such a look as some sort of challenge. "Roxas would never do such a thing!"

The scarred Nobody crossed his arms, chuckling lowly. "Alright, alright. Perhaps you win this round. …But who really cares, hm? Numbers Six and Eight? Besides you, they're the only beings that would care, wouldn't you say?" The older, antagonistic man taunted. "And, hm… it would appear that you three are already taken care of! What a coincidence!"

"I wouldn't," Marluxia smirked. "I would also say Roxas if he were here, but I can proudly say I have Demyx and Xigbar by my side."

The Diviner laughed outright, unable to control his laughter, just as he had before banishing his former friend. This laughter escaped the once-austere Nobody's lips in sputters. "You would honestly expect _Demyx_—the laziest member of this Organization—to put effort into saving _you_? Phweff… that's rich…"

This derision deeply upset the eleventh Nobody. "He… He would…! I know he would!"

Again, the Diviner laughed outwardly. "_Number Nine_ would go out of his way to save you, as well as Numbers Eight and Six, and—on the nonexistent possibility that he would figure it out—Number Thirteen as well? Hah!" The cerulean-locked Nobody mused, regaining his former composure. "Even if he were to, perhaps, fight Number Thirteen, do you believe he'd succeed? Thirteen is far more powerful than the Keyblade Master now that he has left us alone. Roxas would crush any competition you send to him."

"Is that some sort of challenge?" The Assassin sneered, his lip twitched to a growl.

"Oh, no. Not at all. I will not allow you to interfere with Roxas's handiwork." Saïx beamed, his beloved creation still lingering in his mind. "In the meanwhile, is there anything on your mind? Anything you… wish to tell me about the whole reason you're in this mess in the first place, perhaps?"

"Look, perhaps your android malfunctioned, because there wasn't a soul with me." Marluxia, being the proud Nobody he is, held his head high as he mocked the Diviner.

"Is that so? Would you like me to put those words to the test? Because I can. Right here, right now…!" The Diviner then created a dark corridor to Halloween Town, yet gasped in horror at what was—or rather, wasn't—at the receiving end. "N-No…! It's not possible! I could imagine the whelp disappearing but Lea…? How?! Damnit, _HOW_?!"

Marluxia yawned, dissatisfied by the display. "You are much less competent than I gave you credit for. Being outsmarted by a child… how pathetic." He returned the signature smirk to his face.

"Silence, you! The last thing I need is you running insults down my throat!" Saïx growled out, his mind attempting to realign itself with the problem at hand.

"Well now we're mutual on each other's demeanor. Bar that I have to deal with that sort of attitude from you each and every day."

Saïx's worry would not be upheld by this eleventh Nobody. He was no longer needed; the cerulean-locked Diviner already knew who was in the Castle with Roxas, and where he wasn't. "I said, SHUT. UP!" The Luna Diviner then struck his graceful teammate. Swiftly, he disappeared from the room. He had to find those two fugitives posthaste.

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1181_

_Roxas's Journal: Day 004_

_Nothing. As I awoke, as I wandered the expansive Castle, as I ate whatever was served to me for breakfast… I felt nothing. Despite this, I never attempted to question it. I am a Nobody, after all. Nobodies naturally cannot feel. It did not bother me; I did not attempt to understand my meaning in life. It was already set out for me: to collect hearts to restore Kingdom Hearts. There was nothing that could bother a child such as I. Nothing, except for one sole thing: that _boy_; that nuisance of a doppelgänger that wouldn't leave my mind alone! And I knew that that child was not I; that boy did look similar to me, yes, but he was annoying, claiming that someone such as I knew more than my mind allowed him, about a 'life before,' about friends I once had… what utter nonsense._

The lifeless teen entered the Gray Area to find Xemnas standing where Saïx usually stood. His mind, though, was not bothered by this. Perhaps Saïx had more important matters to attend to rather than assign missions, that's all. "Ah, Thirteen. Good morning," The boy did not respond, as was expected. "How was your rest?"

"I slept well, thank you." The younger male responded in a monotone. 'Speak when spoken to.' That was the golden-locked teen's initiative.

"Your mission is a very important one. Today, in Twilight Town, there are some Emblem Heartless. But you shall not do this mission today." The Superior informed.

"May I ask as to why?" The golden blonde teen averted eye contact, his voice quiet—a quirk of his that they could not squeeze out.

"Simple, child. We've noticed more Emblems have been accumulating as time moves on. In order to acquire the most hearts, we'll need to send you when the Emblems culminate. That will be sometime tomorrow. We will be sending you there at the time that they culminate, in order for you to obtain the most hearts. Is that clear? Now get some rest." The golden blonde let slip a small groan. Sleep had always been a bother to him; that's when _he_ would appear, and rant about the teen's morals, as if they were some sort of sin. The Superior seemed to catch onto this. "Is there a problem, child?"

"N-No," The teen hesitated, his mind elsewhere. "I'm just… eager to obtain Kingdom Hearts. I-I understand your reasoning with the culmination, I… I just want to do more missions… hehe…" The younger Nobody chuckled nervously.

"Be truthful here, Thirteen. What is the problem?" Xemnas was not amused by the fact that his creation was now hiding secrets from him. This could mean that their perfect creation was failing them.

"I don't like sleep. It's a liability." Roxas muttered, only speaking half of the truth.

This was enough of an answer for Xemnas. This child's sole goal is to collect hearts. It's understandable if he didn't like to sleep, but it was a necessity. "Child, you need sleep. Too little and your performance will lack. And I will not stand for that, do you understand?"

The golden-locked teen nodded, grateful to have hidden that _boy_ from his Superior. For whatever reason—and the boy did not like to dwell upon reasoning—he _had_ to keep that doppelgänger a secret. After a quick change into his checkerboard pajamas, the child lay himself in bed, conflicted between his hatred for that luminescent worm in his mind and the necessity of sleep. The plush confides his pillow soon enveloped him, and he found himself surrendering to the embrace of sleep.

Surely enough, that liability made himself present. The golden blonde teen's eyes snapped open at the sheer bright of the form before him. "Hadn't I told you to leave me be?" Roxas groaned.

"You did," The doppelgänger responded, his legs folded over one another, his weightless form on the foot of Roxas's bed. How he wished he could kick him off. "But that doesn't mean I'll listen to you."

"Then _I_ won't listen to _you_!" The existing male hissed at his imaginary hindrance, throwing his pillow over his head to attempt to block out that voice… that cretinhad Roxas's voice and it bothered him to no end. What was this boy? A conscience? A part of his mind? A hallucination? Yes, that would seem right. A boy that looked exactly like him—same height, hair and style, eyes, voice—yet dressed differently, and that was all? It had to be a hallucination of the teen's. The boy before him looked like he was pulled from the pages of a Renaissance novel. Or perhaps his clothes somehow symbolized something, like another side of him. Either way, a different side of his mind projected in front of him was certainly a hallucination in _his_ mind.

The imaginary teen seemed amused by his Nobody's display. "That won't work, Roxas. I'm in your mind, no matter how badly you want me to go away. You're hearing me because of that. My voice resonates from your brain."

The possibility of that scenario laid out to the teen was maddening. The possibility of hearing that replica every second of every hour of every day of his life… "Why can't you just leave me alone…?" There was a sort of plea to the thirteenth Nobody's voice as he spoke. Frustrated, he threw his pillow at the glowing figure, only for it to pass through him easily and hit the dresser behind him.

It was the moments that would follow this plea that the younger teen hated the most. The imaginary's voice sang out soothingly as he spoke, "Easy, Roxas, easy… I just want to help you. I'm not here to hurt you." The teen rose as his appearance grew more mature, and soon he appeared much more fatherly. His voice, though deepened, still bore a resemblance to Roxas's, and still held it's soothe. He approached the teen and stroked through his hair and—though he swore he would—Roxas did not fight back against his nighttime adversary. "I'm here to help you, sweetie. I'm not here to pick a fight. I'm someone very special."

The younger male dared to ask, "And that would be…?"

"I'm your Guardian Angel, in a sense." The man smiled, his face soft and sincere, and Roxas found, though he was bitter towards the man, he could not hate him. "Albeit, I'm not an angel-angel, as I'm not dead, but I am to protect you, as you are protecting me."

The golden blonde teen stared at this newly kind and mysterious figure before him. "I'm what…? I'm protecting you…?"

The man chuckled; he had the most beautiful laugh. Although, it wasn't the prettiest. Somehow, the teen had heard one more pleasant. "But of course, Roxas. You protect the most important part of me: the fragment of my heart." The man, still bearing an uncanny, although older, appearance to Roxas, rested his radiant hand on the boy's chest.

"That-That isn't possible…!" Roxas gasped out, his mind now flooded with the new meaning behind this. All of his regulations now bombarded with this new possibility. He is a Nobody. Nobodies do not have hearts. That is why he is to collect hearts: to achieve Kingdom Hearts and regain a heart of his own. "I-I'm a Nobody! That… That…! It isn't—"

The enigmatic man now hushed him, gently placing his fingertips over the boy's lips. "Don't worry, Roxas. This isn't your heart, so yes, you're still a Heartless. It's my heart, okay? You've been holding it since the time you were… 'created.' " He spoke that word, 'created,' with a sort of edge to it; it didn't sound right as delivered it. "You see, I took a risk and fought a man, knowing that my heart would fade in the process. I did it for my friends, you see. But… once he was vanquished, my heart didn't entirely fade. The fragment of it went into you. I've been resting within you since, hoping to return so I might reunite with my friends and my children." His lips curled, making a line of his mouth. "I haven't seen them in so long, and yet…"

The man blinked from his trance when Roxas spoke. "So… I never got a name from you…" His voice held no bitterness anymore; it was light and sympathetic, interested. "You already know I'm Roxas."

The man's signature warm smile returned to his face, brightening the room further. "Oh, how foolish and rude of me. I'm so sorry." He extended a hand out towards the boy. "I'm Ventus. Ventus Skye. I don't believe I've ever told you that, and I apologize."

This brought a smile onto the younger male mechanically, and he took the man's hand which, surprisingly, did not phase through him. His skin was warm, like every other part of him and his personality. "Well, I don't know my last name, but I'm Roxas. Glad to have finally met your acquaintance. …Oh, who am I kidding? You're my friend." The kinder the man before him appeared, the more comfortable the golden blonde teen was in asking him more about himself. "So… your real age…?"

"Well, when I died, I was the age of about twenty-seven. At that time, I had two children, one aged three and another aged four; one was always the energetic one, the other the quieter one… but anyway! In reality, it's been thirteen years since then. I'm now forty." He smiled. "I like to be sixteen sometimes so I can talk to you easier. It seems like you'd be able to communicate with someone your age a little better."

"You'd be surprised. I like this you better. You're less annoying." Roxas responded truthfully, albeit a bit cruelly.

Ventus chuckled that wonderful chuckle again. "Well, I suppose I always have been sort of annoying when I was younger." His expression became stern suddenly. "Roxas, I'm going to be honest with you now, and you're not going to like it, but it's something that must be said."

The younger teen groaned. _This_ is the reason he didn't like Ventus. What was to come from his lips next usually drove the boy mad. "I don't want to hear it." His voice froze to its bitter tone again. "Whatever it is you want to say to me, as long as it's the same nonsense you've been saying to me for the past couple of days, I don't want to hear it." He growled.

"Roxas… please," He whispered, his tone soft. "You have to understand those dreams that you experience… they're not just dreams, they're memories. All of what I've been trying to tell you… it's because you've lost who you have once been. You've lost sight of what's most important to you. You've lost your identity."

Accusations such as these is what maddened the teen. How could this man possibly know anything about him? Albeit, he _is_ his 'Guardian Angel,' what the hell did he know? He claims so much truth, and so many more lies. "Shut up, Ventus! You want me to trust you, and all you keep claiming is all of this deceit. I won't stand for that!"

"Do you, perhaps, have a more logical explanation?" The older now-nuisance crossed his arms, not amused in the least.

"Yeah, I've got one: it's a dream! No more, no less!" The boy cried out.

The man chuckled his warm chuckle that now seemed annoying to the younger male. "Roxas, dreams are imaginary scenarios made by memories. People that you have met before are featured in your dreams everyday. People you've known for longer are featured in your dreams more. And yet you claim that you've never met that redhead in your entire life?"

"No, I haven't." The boy crossed his arms as the blunt statement left his lips, his irritability making itself known. "And I think you should leave."

"Roxas, please listen. It's the truth; that man that you keep seeing and that you keep engaging with, he's someone very important to you. He's your—"

The golden blonde could no longer take this man's accusations. His fury escaping, he screamed, "SHUT UP! GET AWAY FROM ME!" And to his surprise and slight horror, the figure before him burst away into light, an upset look about his face as he faded.

Just then, the boy threw himself awake, his face beaded in a cold sweat. A dream. As always, his entire experience with Ventus is a dream and yet somehow, that man seems to remember what was said each and every time. _What sort of inception _is_ this?_ The boy tried to determine, but alas, his mind was too far gone into the confides of sleep. He rested his head into the pillow once more, and was taken away to wherever his accursed dreams would force him.

* * *

_Axel's Journal: Day 1182_

The day returned once more as the teen trudged into the Gray Area, his mind half-asleep as he lacked sleep last night. He forced it; he would not allow himself to dream of that man again. Xemnas was awaiting there again for the boy. "Now I believe it is time that you enter Twilight Town. Are you prepared, boy?"

The golden-locked Nobody nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Now, I will not settle unless every single Heartless in that area is destroyed, do you understand?"

The boy repeated the same action, "Yes, sir." And it was here that the child's Superior created a dark corridor for the boy to enter through, leading him to his destination in Twilight Town.

Several hours past before another man appeared in the Gray Area. His cerulean locks were wild as he rushed into the room, his expression frantic. "Where…?! Where is the boy?!"

"What's the matter, Saïx?" Xemnas asked rather trivially.

"The boy…! Don't allow him to escape!" The Luna Diviner gasped, resting his hands on his knees as he panted for air. "He… can't…"

"And why not?" The Superior's voice gained a bit of worry. "What's happened?"

"The… fugitives… they've disappeared from Halloween Town. Where did you send that boy?!" Saïx cried out suddenly, distracting Luxord from his poker match with Xaldin.

"You needn't worry, my dear second-in-command. He is in Twilight Town." Although these reassuring words left the Superior's lips, there was still a waver of uncertainty that lingered in the air as Saïx's grave expression did not change.

"This is terrible!" He cried out once more. "I… I-I have allocated the fugitives now! And… they're not in Halloween Town—"

"Yes, we've already established this," Xemnas was annoyed by this redundancy, although the situation seemed far too grave for such trifling matters.

"—but they… have been found in Twilight Town itself!" The younger Nobody managed to cry out before finally attracting his Superior's attention. Without haste, the two conspirators created their dark corridor, the exit to Twilight Town, in hopes that they could rendezvous with the boy before it was too late.

* * *

**A/N: **So, Axel and Zexion escaped Halloween Town (as if we didn't already know!), and now... ROXAS. IS. IN TWILIGHT TOWN. *DUNDUNDUUUUUUUN* So, I'm sure you all know how this's gonna end up, right?

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	12. Chapter XII: Paths Crossed

**A/N: **So, whilst Roxas is going out to defeat the appointed Heartless in Twilight Town, Axel decides to go reminiscing in the life that he and Roxas had... and most likely lost. Or is it...?

* * *

**Chapter XII: Paths Crossed**

* * *

_Axel's Journal: Day 1182—Hours Earlier_

Emblem Heartless? Pureblood Heartless? Could it kill them to make these names less eccentric and more efficient? Is it too much to ask for them to be called 'Heart-Bearing' and simply 'Heartless?' The methods of the Organization confused the teen sometimes. 'RTC?' Why can't they just say 'Let's go home' and call it a day? These superfluous thoughts entered and exited the teen's mind, and yet there were two thoughts that could not leave his head: the mission, as is expected, and Ventus. Oh, how he despised that boy. To his utter relief, that 'Guardian Angel' did not attest to his thoughts; he kept his lips shut from badgering the boy until nightfall.

The golden blonde teen dared to glance at his progress in the completion bar. He groaned at the sight before him; although thoroughly exhausted, his gauge was not even a fraction close to the halfway mark. Despite his tire, the teen knew that it was his mission to collect hearts and complete Kingdom Hearts. He would not allow the opportunity for to collect so many hearts slip him by. His dark corridor had appeared at the tram common, and Roxas did his work in a circular fashion. He moved about the area, vanquishing the many different types of Heartless as he went along. The teen didn't care for the kinds of Heartless he fought; so long as they bared the symbol of the Heartless, this was the only thing that interested him. Dispatching some were quite difficult among the larger Heartless, but he hoped that he would not be stranded in the town for long.

As the completion gauge rose, the teen found he needed to rest, and stumbled upon a curious back alley, a torn cloth hiding a sort of spot. The golden blonde teen entered the area, finding not very much but a small alcove, free of Heartless. The exhausted Nobody rested himself on a nearby pipe to regain his breath. To his surprise and disdain, a figure of light formed before the younger teen as he panted.

"Jeez, you look exhausted." The young Ventus grinned, his hand on his hip. "They working you too hard?"

Roxas simply glared at the boy before him. "Alright, what do you want?" He sneered.

The light form pouted and crossed his arms. "Rox, whether or not you want me to leave—"

"You don't call me 'Rox.' " He growled, his eyes still wavering on fury. "Now leave me alone." He bolted his head away from the luminescent figure before him.

"Rox_as_, I told you I can't." His voice and appearance matured again. "You hold my heart, remember? …Or what _can_ you remember?"

"Quit it with the riddles!" The younger golden blonde rose, readying his Keyblades at the man. "Just tell me whatever it is you want, and get it over with."

The man's arms remained crossed, an upset look sketched on his face. "Roxas… if you're not going to listen to me… if you want me to go away, then you've got to stop with this crass attitude. What I'm trying to tell you is important, and all you've done is shove it off." His voice became much more soothing as he sang, "I'm just here to help you."

The teen felt his options were limited. The possibility of this obtrusive man finally leaving him be was too much to pass up. "…Fine, I'll listen." And with this, the boy's weapons disappeared into the light. "But if you say any of that nonsense that you've been spurting all this time, I'll banish you like I did the last time."

"But that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about! The only reason I've been so persistently annoying about that specific redheaded man is because you know him. He and that Number Eleven and the missing Number Six are all very important to you. If you keep going, you and those you love will be in imminent danger, and very soon."

The younger male crossed his arms. "…So you're here to warn me about them?" The boy was not amused; he could care less for men he didn't even know.

"Yes and no. If you keep doing this, you will lose just too many things. You would never want that to happen. I suggest you stop now before you cause irreparable damage." The man's face reflected concern; he really did only want what was best. "Roxas, you have no idea just how badly this would all go if you were to continue. Please… just don't."

The younger teen's head lifted towards the light embodiment, enmity hidden behind the listless oceans. "I am a unique Nobody in that I have the power of the Keyblades, did you know that? With these, I can collect hearts so that I may achieve Kingdom Hearts and gain a heart of my own."

Ventus was not amused. "You're a broken record of what your superiors want you to say, Roxas…" His voice was soothing once more. "Please… whatever you do, find it in your heart to just stop… you won't like it if you go on like this… and if you don't leave, just remember that I'm still going to be here. You have my heart, after all."

Roxas growled. Ventus always used that excuse: 'You have my heart…' "Well, maybe I don't want your heart. That's the only reason you're able to annoy me like this." The teen murmured. A flash of true, deep-rooted pain peppered across Ventus's face, much like that redheaded man's was when his claim of the teen being his lover fell short. "I'm doing this to gain Kingdom Hearts, as my masters have told me. That is all." He stated firmly. "It really bothers me when you suddenly decide what I do and do not want."

Ventus shook his head slowly. "Roxas, they decided what you do and don't like from the minute you woke up. Isn't that right?"

The golden-locked teen took a moment to ponder this. "Go away," He growled out, unable to reject the man's reasoning any other way. "I… I'm doing this for us. All of us." He muttered, uncertainty still lingering in his mind.

"Alright, Roxas. I humbly acquiesce your request, seeing as how you're finally thinking." And as Ventus began to fade, Roxas could here him say, "I hope I have given you enough time to change your mind about him; that you'd be better prepared by now, but your paths will cross, and you will confront him there, where you two met… where you two shared too many memories. The rest is up to you." As he faded, the teen breathed a sigh of relief, though there was a pang of something else as the man left. Guilt? Anger? Foreboding? This, the teen could not tell. All that was known was that this feeling involved, lamentably, Ventus somehow. The thirteenth Nobody wandered for a bit through the cleared areas of the town to regain his strength and peace of mind.

It was here, the sunset's light fading behind the nighttime's beckon, that the teen witnessed a peculiar sight: two figures wearing the Organization's coat, and yet he had never seen them before. One had fiery red locks extending several inches from his head, his emerald eyes glinting in worry. He had an indigo tattoo under each eye. He was maybe two or three inches taller than the boy himself and looked awfully familiar. The second male was around an inch or two shorter than the redheaded man, with silvery hair mopping down the right side of his face, messily and yet somehow, it was neat. His indigo eyes were upset, reprimanding the redhead. Although Roxas could not hear exactly what they were saying, their body languages made it understandable that the shorter, silvery-locked male was chastising his redheaded acquaintance. Either way, it did not matter to the younger Nobody. They were imposters; acting as if they were members of the Organization XIII. His trustworthy Keyblades would surely capture their hearts once he smothered them into oblivion. "You!" He called, turning the men's attention towards him. "You dare try to wear the coat? Oblivion calls for that sort of negligence!" The teen readied himself to battle, the silvery-locked male immediately drawing out a book similar in size to a dictionary. The redhead, however, simply stood there, torn, his eyes mirroring some sort of astonishment.

"Come now, Axel!" The silvery-haired man hissed. "Now is no time to second-guess this boy! You've gotten us into this mess, and now you and I will have to fight our way through it!" The younger man spoke an incantation that Roxas could not catch, and he sent a wave of darkness towards the teen.

The fiery Nobody groaned himself awake as the morning daylight bothered its way across his face. He rose with a stretch, his tired bones popping, and noted that his night had recovered him rather well. It was a dreamless night, and that alone he was eternally grateful for. If any sort of dream was to befall his sleep, it would be laced with tragedy and betrayal from a certain golden blonde. Atop all of that, the cold grass seemed not to do any harm to his body, but he would never know until he was out and about with Zexion. Then the man remembered… _Zexion. I know what I want to do today, but Zexion is a major factor I can do without._ The redhead scanned the grounds for any sign of the silvery-locked teen, and found him nestled in a cold ditch, smiling softly as he dreamed. This made the redhead laugh in his breath, a sweet feeling flooding his stomach. He must have been dreaming of his lover. Of pleasant times long past. A taut, rotting feeling then wormed in his stomach. The teen was diluting himself in those dreams. Only after Axel got stronger and defeated Saïx would everything be alright. The man sighed. It was all his fault. His fault alone exposed he and Roxas's intimate relationship. His fault forced himself away from the Castle and thrust him into a world of hiding. His fault caused Roxas to be transformed into that… _thing_. His fault… _No_. He would not allow himself to be drowned in self-pity. He can pity another later. Pity Saïx when he's burned into oblivion. Now was not the time to mope, but who's to say it wasn't the time for reminiscing? The sole factor that was not absolute was Roxas's appearance itself. Until then, who's to say that a little exploring is so bad? _Zexion, of course_. The older teen groaned. Should he disobey his smarter friend and explore the town so close to his heart? Or should he await Zexion's orders and hide in the shadows?

He sighed, turning a glance at his silvery-locked friend. "I'll only be gone a little while." He assured his unconscious friend, but mostly himself. "Nothing bad will happen if I'm only gone a little while."

The fiery redhead explored the city so vastly familiar to him; therefore, it wasn't much of an exploration so much as a 'trip down memory lane,' with each corner, each market, each street holding a different memory of times long past. _"If we settle down at all, y'know, once we get Kingdom Hearts, can we live here?" Roxas's sweet notes sang._ _"It's a quaint little place, and it's so dear to us. I'm sure Sal would love it if he had loyal customers coming in every day for the rest of his ice cream-filled life! It'd be perfect for us." He smiled with a bite of the ice cream he'd be so content with eating day after joyful day._

"Wouldn't it?" He found himself muttering, just as he had stated so confidently the months before, holding Roxas's hand as the golden blonde braced himself along the man's arm.

He made his way through the tram common as the memories floated around him like illusions, disembodied memories of the past wandering like poltergeists so as to haunt him. Although he began to regret ever emerging from his confides in the shadows, the simple, hallucinating images of Roxas was enough to keep him going. He went about the marketplace, and peered into a clothing store. _"I told you that this would go well with your jacket! It looks nice!" The black-and-white-clad teen marveled, gazing at me expectantly as I threw on my sleeveless black leather jacket. _

_"Rox, I look like frikken Waldo! …But I do have to admit it looks nice with a jacket." I conceded, examining myself in the mirror; along with my jeans, boots and hat, I looked pretty nice._

_"See?" He bounced, proud of his artistic eye. "Now try it without that ponytail and hat. See if it still looks nice." I did just so and a squeak escaped him as he clapped his hands together. "You look wonderful! That shirt works just fine!" It was with his approval that I decided to buy that long-sleeved shirt. I removed it, assuring that I would purchase it to his wishes. "Alright! Now onto that blue one."_

He smiled softly as the memory passed through his brain, and he made his way to the fruit market. _"See, Roxas? This is a pomegranate. It's a tangy sort of fruit. You have to peel it open, then all the ruby little fruits will spill out. I know you'll like it, 'cause you like tangy stuff. Here," I put the fruit in the basket. "I'll buy one, since I like them too, and you'll see how you like it, okay?"_

_"Well, I dunno about this stuff, so it's your call, alright?" He gave me a quick peck to my cheek. "You know I'm adventurous, Axel. I'll try anything you'd like." _…He really did enjoy that pomegranate, albeit the redhead forgot to inform him that the juice stains clothes; Roxas wasn't able to wear his white jacket until they had thoroughly washed it at least five times.

Finally, the distraught redhead, now plagued with memories of times possibly forever lost, stumbled to his most cherished site: the station tower. He marveled at the bell tower that brought memory upon memory with each passing day. Before him, as he gazed upon the ledge that the pair used to relax day after each passing day. The memories fast-forward in Axel's delusional mind, each day and each night sped up from the very first day; Roxas's withdrawn composure made such an assumption absolute. It progressed through those first 358 days, as Roxas grew more and more confident, as he gained his personality that would soon make the redhead fall for him, as they gained and bid farewell to their old friend, Xion. Roxas never remembered Xion when he reawakened, but Axel always assumed that her life now in Hollow Bastion was for the best. One day, he assured himself, they'd reunite with her, and have Roxas remember all of those times long past, perhaps reigniting new memories.

He found himself soon short of breath as every experience—every laugh, every secret, every kiss—was revealed on that ledge on that clock tower; how it must have been a bother for the locals that noticed them, to see two, then three seemingly delusional teens eating ice cream atop that tower. But no, what truly fell the redhead short of breath was the sheer reminiscence that could possibly be forever lost to him. _Yeah… it _was_ a bad idea coming here… all you're getting yourself is upset._ And still, he could not avert his gaze to the tower so close to his heart. He brushed his fingers against the golden surface. "Roxas…" He muttered, a sigh heaving from his chest. "I'll get you back, sweetheart. I promise, I will." He gazed up once more to the station tower, and before him fell the scene of their first successful year of dating. Nightfall soon shadowed the skies.

_"Good thing… we escaped…" Roxas was panting as he finally reached our destination. He rested his hands on his knees before finally throwing himself down on his spot on the ledge, left-sided to myself. "Why'd you ditch me? All this time… you've been begging to chokehold me… then you ditch me when I need you most?"_

_I chuckled, having already seated myself prior, my right leg propped up on the marble. "Well first off, it's 'cuddling;' I wouldn't necessarily call that a 'chokehold.' Second, I told you to meet up with me by the clock tower, implying that I would, in fact, leave you at some point in time. Thirdly, I think that ditching you was a bit necessary." I smiled as I presented him with his favorite type of gift; sea-salt ice cream, what else?_

_He took a grateful bite. "…I'm still not forgiving you for ditching me." He grumbled._

_I outwardly laughed at this, playfully irritating him. "Who ever said you needed to run? After all, it's only Demyx who really cared to drag you away and, I mean, it's _Demyx_, so it's not all that hard to try to occupy him with a more lethargic thing to do, y'know? Could've given him a paddle ball and called it a night."_

_"Well, I honestly thought he was going to chase me…" Roxas grumbled again._

_I outwardly laughed again. "Pfft! Really? You honestly thought he was going to _chase you_? Chasing is a no-no in the Lazy Man's Guide to Laziness, by Demyx Ocean." I chuckled. "Too bad he was too lazy to finish writing it. But if he did, it probably would've said something like, 'whatever you do, don't run. It's too much work.' or something, got it memorized? He's too damned lazy to give chase to you. Even if it's our special day and he wants you as far away from me as possible."_

_Roxas chuckled, amused yet again by my sarcastic sense of humor. "So… baby… didn't you want to do something… more?"_

_I nearly choked on my ice cream. "Wh—?! …More?" I gasped out. Was he really…?_

_But, as innocent as Roxas is, of course he couldn't be asking… "Y'know… maybe a fireworks show or something…? Something… flashy? You always like flashy." He took another nibble at his ice cream, concerned, yet unaware, of my worry._

_"N-No… not today…" I heaved a sigh of relief. There, I thought something took away that child's poor innocence. 'Something' with a strange haircut, water-based properties, and a tendency for laziness. And if it had been so, I'd be sure to deck that 'something' square in the face… and maybe relieve some more pent-up aggression… no, no, Axel. You're trying to relieve your stress otherwise… you beat up too much stuff. "I was thinking we could just do something simple. You like simple." I mimicked his way of speaking. "So I decided, 'what's better that just going to the old clock tower to enjoy some time with the one I love over bites of our favorite snack?' "_

_His ocean eyes shone. "Axel… that… wow, no one's ever been so thoughtful of me… thank you…" He smiled sweetly, a light blush tinting his face. "There's nothing I'd rather do than to just enjoy ice cream and talk about my day with the one I love." He turned to me, his perfect face wearing a gleaming smile, his cheek glistening with a single tear. "Thank you so much, Axel."_

_"Hey, don't cry," I bent over to him and wiped the stray drop from the oceans of his eyes. "There's nothing I'd rather do than be beside you. I love you, Roxas, and there's nothing I'd want to do to make you unhappy. That's why I thought that a simple, run-of-the-mill day would end up so special for you."_

_He laughed softly, wiping the last of the watery trail from his eyes. "Because it's so run-of-the-mill, huh?"_

_"Well of course," Although he was preoccupied with preventing a river from diverging from the oceans of his eyes, I couldn't help but notice him as he did so. He was so imperfectly perfect, in indescribable ways… his large, thin, pale hands sloppily mopping away the tears from his crystalline eyes, his golden lashes fanning away the rest as he composed himself. "It started out just a run-of-the-mill day when we came up here exactly one year ago." I muttered as he was doing so. His eyes darted up to me, forehead creased in concentration as I recalled the events of that once-in-a-blue-moon day. "I… I don't know if it was your powers, but I feel like I'd been exposed to you long enough that I'd feel enough to feel love, 'cause seeing you hit me like a ton 'a bricks, jaw dropped… all the works. But it was in this run-of-the-mill place, on a run-of-the-mill day, like every other run-of-the-mill time that changed _us_ forever. I mean, I'd suddenly noticed you for the gorgeousness that you truly possessed." I could see Roxas's blush thickening in my peripherals. "And… And I couldn't hold it back any longer. It was in that run-of-the-mill day that I realized that I truly loved you, Roxas. And, believe me, if it wasn't for the fact that I don't care for that sort of thing, it would've been more than just the fact that I can't feel that would've held me back so long." I felt that a moment hadn't been created yet; something to solidify this time in our memories for years to come. "How did it go again…?" I tapped my index to my chin as my plan formed. "Ah, now I remember," A leather-bound hand entwined the back of Roxas's head, forcing him closer as my lips parted and met the plush lips of my beloved sweetheart. Unsuspected, and now suddenly understanding, just as the year before us. As soon as the shock melted from his face, he returned my kiss and molded his lips to mine, the passion we shared unable to quell. Tears rolled down his face as he surrendered himself to me and he and I expressed our lasting bond that had seen us through the whole year. I pulled away from him finally and pecked his forehead. I smoothed some obscuring hair from his face as I restated, "Alright Roxas, ten words or less: 'I think I'm in love with you.' "_

_He chuckled softly, the tears streaming from his face, and he threw his arms around me, enveloping his head in my jacket. He snuggled into the confides of the Waldo shirt he bought me as he whispered, "I love you Axel. I love you so much."_

_I couldn't help but mimic his soft chuckle, smoothing through his plush golden hair as I kissed atop of it and breathed out, "I love you too, sweetheart."_

The redhead heaved a great sigh as tears cascaded down his flushed face. He did not try to stop them; there was no way he could. That precious day that the golden blonde swore he'd never forget… he had forgotten. That, along with the one he fell in love with. It seemed that the fiery Nobody simply could not come to grips with the situation at hand until one such as the Schemer was there to snap him into the reality that lay before him.

Speak of the devil… "Axel!? Axel, what the hell are you doing here?!" The silvery-locked male marched up to the dazed older male with obvious irritation.

"Zexion, I can explain—" Axel made out to say, but atop the fact that the redhead was too dazed to create a coherent sentence, the sixth Nobody would hear none of the illogical mess he'd be certain to create.

It was an idiotic idea to begin with, only leading to tears for the redhead, and the illusionist knew it. "Have you not understood the dangers that you now face? For all we know, we could be monitored by the superiors as we speak; and all you've managed to do was gawk at this tower for ten minutes straight without moving an inch! I thought you'd died for a minute." The teen continued on his tirade as the memories escaped back within the eighth Nobody. "Quickly, we have to return to the forest. It's the only place left that's safe." Dread washed over the young illusionist with a realization. "…Oh, what's the use? If they're monitoring us, then the already know where we secretly reside…" He glared at the older male with his one visible eye, the cool silver hardened into a metallic gray. "Congratulate yourself, Axel, you've condemned us both by the sheer force of your stupidity alone."

Axel soon drowned out these castigations with Roxas's calming advice. Promptly, the 'Roxas' he heard was no longer in his mind… "You!" Out in the distance, the faint voice of Roxas rang out. And it was not in the redhead's mind, either; Zexion turned his head in silence to face the voice. But it could not be said that the voice was the light, sweet, carefree tone usually held by the boy. Oh, no… it was cold, bitter and brimming in hatred, a thick pride about it. "You dare try to wear the coat? Oblivion calls for that sort of negligence!" The emerald eyes finally befell the oceans of Roxas's eyes… no. It was not the oceans of Roxas's… it was that of a malicious stranger. They hardened into a crystalline sapphire as pillars of light shone down from the skies and summoned the shimmering form of two Keyblades; with a flick, the light broke free of them, exposing his beloved weapons, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. In accordance to his statement, Oblivion was to be the weapon to propose their demise. His face was not hidden; his hood rested on the top of his head, golden locks peeking out from under and in front of it, his usually ocean blue eyes now a sturdy sapphire affixed with strategy and determination, his pale, flawless face stern with the mission at hand: the objective to kill them.

From deep within the confides of Roxas's body, Ventus wept. He did all that he could, and it was not enough. The man watched as his guarded was destroying every meaning he had in life without any knowledge of it. It was to no surprise that his beloved, Axel, stood there in complete stupor. Roxas sent a blast wave of light as the child closed the distance between he and the Cloaked Schemer, who soon found he was on his own, and he could not blame his friend. Zexion's rebuttal was a pulse of dark energy. He, in a moment of shock, attempted to defend himself with his Lexicon as Roxas's weapons made their way towards him. He had no choice but to use a Blizzard attack to attempt to push the boy away. Without Axel's help, he knew that defeating the boy was a slim chance, if there was to be a chance at all. The two continued their clash, one on Zexion's side and another on Roxas's… completely dumbfounded, incapacitated by shock and disbelief. "Please…" Ventus whispered from his residence in Roxas's heart. "Please fight it… You're in there, Roxas, I know it. You have to escape… It may be… too late…!" Instead, the boy did not listen. As he and the 'stranger' fought, his persistence programmed into him pushed out all other thoughts… including Ventus; it seemed that he was trying exponentially harder to free himself of his Guardian Angel's voice. Roxas's weapons connected with the sixth Nobody's skin, and he hissed, retracting, sending another wave of darkness towards the boy. This managed to sear the skin of his opponent, in whatever sort of searing that could be.

The redhead stood, his emerald eyes conflicted with shock and horror, as his close friend and his lover were pitched in a heated battle, one of them with the intention only to help, the other, unbeknownst to this intention. As Roxas's Keyblades clashed against the Lexicon… as magic seared and froze and jolted Roxas… the eighth Nobody found he could do nothing. The love of his life… doing such a horrid thing without the knowledge of it… and atop that, how could Axel ever bring himself to force harm upon the one he loves so dearly? He found himself singing, ever so softly.

Roxas was sweating bullets by the end of his skirmish with Zexion. Now, it was the Schemer's turn. He surrounded the world in shadows, forcing Roxas to fight illusions of himself. The illusionist felt that he was free from the torments of further harming that poor boy, until a concentrated beam of light pierced through the dark veil and nearly through the silvery-haired Nobody had he not moved from the line of light. The golden blonde teen burst through, his anger fuming, his knuckles tensed his grip around his weapons. He charged headlong into the Cloaked Schemer.

Ventus watched as Zexion's Lexicon attempted to copy the Keyblade, but the weapon's properties disallowed such a thing. Seizing the opportunity, Roxas threw his two weapons' slashes towards the cloaked male, but he swiftly dodged, his leg sustaining a slash nonetheless. The sixth Nobody quickly threw out more magic to distance himself from the teen, his fire attacks dazing him for some time. The mission-bound teen brought a ray of light down upon the silvery-locked teen.

Again, the silvery-locked teen attempted to escape this blast, but the thirteenth Nobody knew of this. He sent a pulse of light to wherever the radius may be of Zexion's dodging, but did not expect the teen to vanish momentarily and completely. The Guardian Angel found himself nearly unable to move… nearly incapable of breathing… the only possible thing halting his shortness of breath, and subsequent fainting, was the sweet notes of Axel's song. The older male begged, to whatever higher power there may be in the sky, for a miracle—for anything that could shake Roxas back into reality. Although Zexion did not seem to be losing, he had no way, it seemed, to be able to defeat the boy either.

Roxas had had enough. He launched a powerful light wave in all directions, knocking the two on their backs. Zexion attempted to recover, and in that time, the golden blonde sent a pillar of light directly atop the teen, engulfing him. The boy felt… merciful. He would allow the scum to live. His light pillar was cut, and the silvery-locked teen fell to his knees, the last of his consciousness escaping him; the only sight visible was the friend he once knew as Roxas, his expression callous as cold sapphire eyes watched as his consciousness slipped his grasp; Zexion's weapon fell from his grip as he crumpled onto the mortar-bricked road.

The boy's eyes fell upon the singing voice, indifference sketched across his face. "You… are without a partner." He stated simply, unmoving. This man was no threat to him, and yet he wore the coat… he could press for time, but time was of the essence. He would not banter with a man who posed as an obstacle. His destiny was his friend's: to soon be out of the way.

"That would be true… in more ways than one." Axel could not allow his eyes to meet Roxas's. _So cold… and yet, still so beautiful._ His hand found the back of his head, scratching it slightly.

"You draw your weapon, and yet you do not raise it." Another simple statement. "If you do not, I will still hold no qualms of assaulting you in cold blood."

Axel sighed. "I won't fight you, Roxas." He breathed. "I… would never hurt you." Pain twisted his face; this boy was not Roxas. He spoke nothing like him… he acted nothing like him… what was so difficult about raising his blade?

"Fine," Roxas grinned. "I have said I have no qualms with assaulting you in cold blood. If you don't leave my sight, I'll be forced to assault you to give me passage." He readied his Keyblades towards the unsuspecting male. "So move,"

"Roxas…" Axel could hardly believe what his emerald eyes were witnessing. "Can't we just… talk…?" Those eyes were wavering on tears. "Please…?"

"I have no time to speak with a fool who pretends to wear the coat. If you possibly think you have the right to hold your head so high…!" His weapons poised, he mandated the man leave the area. "Leave now, or you'll taste my blades." There was a long moment of silence between the two, and Roxas's patience wore thin. "Fine, you leave me no other option." He sent a wave of light towards the older male, and Axel dodged swiftly. His instincts only worked that far; he did not try to hurt Roxas. Those instincts were not present, the only being to avoid the child at any costs.

The longer he kept himself alive, the more time he had to draw out the old Roxas. "Well, I don't care what your objectives are. You can't silence me if you can't hit me!" He grinned, mostly for himself. Sheer anger flickered across the golden blonde's face. "So, I'll ask you anything I want as long as you don't have the ability to hurt me."

"And what makes you think that?!" Venom spat from the boy's lips. "Insolent swine…! As you cannot be silenced, I cannot be at liberty to answer your contemptible questions!" He sent another set of waves towards the redhead, who dodged again swiftly. "If you plan on playing that game just as your friend had, I _will_ find a way to destroy you!"

"Whoa, whoa, buddy, you only said you'd assault me!" He grinned teasingly; the sense of frustration was almost like the old Roxas's, although the old Roxas would never try to kill him, of course.

"I'm willing to change that in the way you irritate me! The other man… he'd shut up and fight! You run your mouth and evade!" He closed the distance between each other, and the eighth Nobody had no choice but to use his weapons; to defend himself was the only reason he rationalized in his mind to use it for. "Ah, finally! You finally ready your blades to me; you're not as much of a coward as I thought."

The older male couldn't let the boy get the run of the speaking. He had to speak, and fast. If he was not to speak, Roxas would never be restored. "So, Roxas, you remember me right?"

"But of course. You're that sick man that molested me. And it is for that reason and your annoying attitude that you must die." He growled, his Keyblades colliding with the redhead's Chakrams, much to their own dismay; Roxas wanted to connect with the redhead's flesh and Axel wanted the horrid nightmare to end. He was staring his beloved right in his eyes… and that is what made it so easy. This boy's eyes were so cryptically different than the old Roxas, it almost convinced the man that it was not Roxas at all.

_Well, that escalated quickly._ "I mean, before that. I was in your life before all of that. Before Saïx took your memory! I was the most important thing in your life, damnit!" He found himself shouting as he and the golden blonde clashed, his emerald eyes laced in worry, the beautiful teen's sapphires hardened to nearly the color of the midnight sky in utter fury.

"You haven't any idea what you're talking about, you cretin! I was created but a few days ago; you couldn't possibly know me!" He hissed, slashing away at the man who, in heightened senses, was able to evade every attack that was attempted to be delivered.

It was a disturbing thing that Roxas truly _couldn't_ remember his life before his transformation. Perhaps a memory… "You don't remember _us_? You don't remember that fateful day more that one year ago when we kissed atop that tower right there?" He pointed towards the clock tower where, indeed, they shared that very sacred moment. "You don't remember how you kissed me back, and how you gave me your metaphorical heart? You're telling me you don't remember that?" He cried, unable to contain his heartbroken feelings.

The younger male did not hesitate; he took a simple glance at a tower that meant nothing to him. "How should I? You do not matter to me nor does that tower. And I would never waste my time on a fool like you." And, as he had done previously with Zexion, the teen loosed a pillar of light down upon the distraught redhead, felling him immediately afterward, just short of the necessary volume to kill him.

As the boy turned to leave, his leg was restrained by the fading grip of the fallen man before him, forcing a turn towards the obstacle. Axel couldn't help but smile; if he would not smile, he'd weep more oceans than those sparkling in his once-beloved's eyes. The boy before him… was no Roxas; Roxas would never harm him. Never. It had to be true, then. Roxas… was dead. The redhead attempted to educe the old Roxas far too late. The new Roxas was far too powerful… the memories of the times of the past… long vanished. His sweetheart… but a fleeting memory. He managed to choke out in one last bout of hope, "No matter what happens to me… Roxas… the love we shared… that will never change. Those memories… even if you can't remember them… _I_ always will; I'll always remember… The bond that we had will never disappear… even if you'll never see it. I… I love you, Roxas." His consciousness slipping, the words slipped from his lips as his consciousness slipped from his body. "No matter what you can and can't remember… know this from now on: I love you no matter how you change… no matter who you are… I'll always remember the Nobody I fell in love with." He smiled weakly as the last words left his lips, his eyes fluttering to the subconscious world as he tapped his index to his forehead, "Got it… memorized?"

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**A/N:** NUUUUU! D: What happened to Roxas? (Really, what did happen? I haven't seen this story in a good month or two ^^') Can he be saved? Can Axel be saved? What of Zexion and Marley? Will Saïx and Xemnas be able to intercept them? No more sea-salt ice cream?!

All will be answered in the next chapter. Paaaaatience... }:3

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	13. Chapter XIII: The Key of Destiny

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N: **Well, folks, Axel's nearly dead, and his words didn't work on Roxas. What's to become of him now?

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**Chapter XIII: The Key of Destiny**

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_Axel's Journal: Day 1182_

Roxas loomed over the figure; his irritation had not quelled. No one would miss this fool, would they? He readied his Oblivion over the unconscious form, preparing the fatal strike.

"No! N-No…" Ventus cried from within him. He had attempted everything to draw out the Roxas that was so very important to him. "Please… don't do this…" He sobbed, knowing his options had now run dry.

The younger male, indifferent to his Guardian Angel's pleas, found himself bothered. Why would a man go through the troubles of saying those words if he knew his consciousness would escape him? Nonetheless, he brought his weapon to the air, preparing to strike. Ventus shielded his eyes, unable to bear the fate that Axel would soon meet. Lamentably, this was as far as the teen could bring his weapon; his anger fled his body at that point, and he watched the unconscious Nobody before him with confusion. _"I'll always remember the Nobody I fell in love with." _Was one of the last words that escaped his lips. If he was truly a falsified Organization member, why would he go through the troubles of feigning the feelings of his last words… unless they were not fictitious, but true?

"…Remember the Nobody I fell in love with…" He muttered, unable to bring his weapon down upon the man. Despite himself, he attempted to take the man's advice, as he is not one to make a man's words die in vain.

From deep within the thirteenth Nobody, Ventus raised his head from his tear-soaked hands. His ears befell a miraculous sound: the sound of doubt. He had to seize the opportunity, and he knew this was his very last chance to restore the boy. "Roxas… yes, listen to those words. Please." He attempted to soothe his voice, and, despite his failure in doing so, he tried to allow Roxas the option to disregard his voice; the Nobody did not like having his emotions assumed. He didn't enjoy when individuals postulated what he did and did not want. "This man… something about him seems strange, doesn't it? Please don't let his last words go to waste. Look deep within yourself. Besides your unpleasant experience with him that very first day, you know you have seen him elsewhere. The questions are where, when… and why."

The younger golden blonde could no longer deny the man's words. Although very irritable, Roxas _had_ to find the truth; the unprecedented _need_ to uncover the truth behind the man's words caused the boy to look deep inside himself. Remembering that Nobody… The boy's head began to throb mercilessly. He clutched his temples, the throbbing growing unbearable, and he fell to his knees. Soon, his hands fell limp at his sides as his conscious mind slipped within himself, and he was confronted by the relieved form of Ventus in the Awakening room hidden in his heart. Roxas, however, was not so amused. "What do you want?!" He cried, unable to understand what was reality anymore. "Make this… Make this pain stop! What do you want from me?!"

"That's a very special power, Roxas. Those days that you shared with the fallen redhead before you… now that you've defeated him, and he has said those choice words, you can unlock this power. It is up to you if you want to unlock it or not."

"What sort of power could hurt me so badly?" He shrieked. "What do I have to do to make it stop?!" The world around him blurred. _What was this Twilight Town again…? Did it have a meaning to me? Those two men I fought… I'd seen them somewhere, hadn't I? And Ventus… now that name seems just so familiar._

His voice was soothing as he closed the distance between the two, gently releasing his hands from his temples. "You have to look me in my eyes now, Roxas. You have to look at me and think. Besides our encounters in your subconscious… you'd seen me before, hadn't you? Before your Day One, correct?" The man's soft thumbs brushed along the boy's cloaked palms as the younger male finally looked his doppelgänger in his ocean blue eyes.

His memory only stretched as far back as the very first day where Xemnas initiated him… and yet that date itself seemed out-of-place. _When was I truly initiated? When my name was revealed in Twilight Town, this very town, it was not only four days ago, was it? It was… It was… _The boy tried ever so desperately for the truth to reveal itself to him. Somewhere, hidden deep within him, was the answer to his suspicions. Somewhere, he had seen Ventus… but where?

_The boy wandered for what seemed like hours in his sand-splotched home. His feet dug into the grainy material as he gazed curiously at the setting sun, bleaching the ocean before him in an angelic orange, painting his face as he bathed in its glow. The golden blonde freed his legs from the cool confides of the tomb he had nestled into and onto the surface of the beige landscape, whereupon he rested his elbows upon his scratched knees, his cheeks rested upon his fisted, worn, pale hands. His fingers wandered out and sought the charm he always kept in his pocket._

_It was a necklace—a golden rim in the form of a heart, with a sapphire, four-pointed star along the symmetry of the rim, a crystalline casing within the rim and between the star, filled with a liquid. In the right light, the bottle-like casing glistened. His brother once mentioned that the liquid was that of the stars, and it glistened so because of that. He threw the chain around his neck and wore it proudly._

_Soon, the skies began to glisten, and stars began to bleed from the sky. It was like something out of the boy's dreams; stars were shooting from their domain—a meteor shower—and one made its destination right before the boy. The star morphed into a sapphire-colored form—much like the four-pointed star that embellished the boy's heart-shaped necklace. Soon, the boy was transported into a room, a glass picture of a man that looked similar to him in a sort of sleeping position. There was a single chair in the room. The star spoke. "Hello there, young man."_

_The boy smiled, revealing his missing teeth. "Hiya, Mr. Star. What are you doing? Are you lost?"_

_A chuckle emitted from the sapphire form. "Very correct, indeed. I am lost, and I'm very tired and hurt, but I am simply moving on my way."_

_"You're hurt? Do you want me to take you back to the village? I'll get you some medicine to make you get better." The young golden blonde offered, his fingers tracing the charm. He looked at the star with a ponder upon his face. "Are you sad?"_

_There was another chuckle emitted from the star. "No, no. I need… a place to stay. Can I stay with you?"_

_"Sure, Mr. Star. You can stay with me. I don't mind. If your tired, you can rest. Maybe I'll get to glow, too! If you're tired and hurting… you can sleep in me."_

_The star hesitated, the residing presence taken back. This boy had known that the presence within would have to reside _within_ the boy. "Thank you… but I lament to say I cannot teach you to glow. I can, however teach you how to manipulate the light to combat the setting darkness."_

_"Okay, mister! As long as you're happy. But I wanna ask you some questions first."_

_"Well, since you're insisting my residence inside of you, I suppose I have the time. If you'll give me but a moment." The voice said warmly. The boy agreed, and the star escaped inside of the boy's chest, filling him with a renewed energy. A light shone thereafter and manifested into the form of a man, shining softly. He looked similarly to the younger golden blonde himself. "Alright, then. Now you can ask me what you'd like." _

_"Wow, mister, you're really pretty. But what are you doing here?"_

_The man chuckled, his face so bright as he did so. "Ah, if I'd only know the answer to that question myself. Do you, perhaps, know the location that we speak today?" A tear unexpectedly dripped from the man's ocean blue eyes as he finally gazed upon the younger boy._

_"Don't cry, Mr. Star. We're in Destiny Islands. This is my home. I'm Aros, by the way. Aros Skye; I'm three years old. My big brother's a year older than me!" His grin fell absent of his front teeth again. "What's your name, mister?"_

_He brushed his hand through the young boy's hair. "I suppose I've forgotten my manors." He chuckled his beautiful chuckle once more. "I'm Ventus, and I'll be your Guardian Angel from now on, young Aros. Whenever something will scare you, I'll be there to cast the light upon the darkness that surrounds you so."_

The young golden blonde blinked, his memory finally flooding his mind. "V-Ventus…?" He whispered, unsure of what to believe anymore. His initiative was to collect hearts to complete Kingdom Hearts, and yet… such trifling things as Ventus were becoming ever so important to him. This initiative… was becoming obsolete in his mind. _Who _is_ that redhead…?_ The boy wanted so desperately to know. He wanted so badly to remember; this man was very important to him… but he could remember nothing of him.

Ventus, however, had other plans. "Roxas… do you remember me?" He asked in just as low a whisper.

"We met… when I was a somebody…" He whispered once more, unable to come to grips with the reality that he now faced. "You were with me… since I was small… trying to regain yourself…"

"Yes, Roxas. Now you remember." Ventus smiled sweetly, relief softening his ocean blue eyes. "But you still don't recall who Axel is, do you?" The boy shook his confused head. "Would you like me to inform you?" The younger golden blonde gazed up at the man he now remembered, and hesitated. What would he be to do if he were to regain his memory? What if the world was a darker and more frightening thing now that his objective was skewed? What if this man was not all worth fighting for? What if…? _No._ The boy's ocean eyes met his older Guardian's, whose shone a shade lighter than his, brimming with warmth and bright._ I can trust this man. He's been within me for thirteen years._ The teen finally nodded confidently. "Alright then," Ventus smiled, tears beginning to glisten off the corners of his eyes.

_As always, the redhead navigated around the narrow pathway winding up the clock tower station, his two hands tightly gripping the ever-familiar popsicles now with uncertainty and tension, white blushing from his knuckles tucked underneath the veil of black. What was this feeling that he was experiencing now? This foreign nervousness that now reared its hideous head and drifted him from his best friend? Now, this new overcoming allowed itself to make Roxas out to be… something unforgivably…_ lovely_._ _Emerald eyes fixed on a peculiar crack in the marble to avoid his friend's eye, the redheaded teen sat down with nothing but a hollow "Hey," and a silent pass of the popsicle, biting into his own thoughtlessly, his mind focused elsewhere as he stared blankly the everlasting sunset ahead._

_Roxas was nibbling away at his own, but couldn't help but feel a bit odd himself. The friend before him was off; his usually bright personality askew and replaced with an empty sort of wondering. He must have been thinking very deeply. Besides his ocean eyes darting to catch his friend's crystalline emerald, the shorter male made no attempt to engage his elder friend, blaming the lack of enthusiasm on the redhead's recent mission. Time passed and not a single word was spoken, the silence surpassed only marginally with the occasional bite of the popsicle. The quietness was maddening just beyond the azure corneas of the younger teen. The simple thought of a mission not-so-well-done being bombarded by the possibility of so many other pains, most of which included a newly sour outlook on the golden-locked teen himself. Always one to self-inflict pain, the boy diluted himself in the sheer thought of Axel's noiselessness seemingly proving to be the proof of the drifting of a failing friendship. The emptiness visible in Axel's face he could take no more; Roxas had to know the reasoning behind his close friend's screaming silence, whether the truth was unbearable or not. "Axel, please! Please say _something_! Just speak! What's wrong, Axel? What's wrong?!" The golden blonde teen cried, allowing all of his mild insanity to slip out with his pleas._

_"Hm? What?" Axel regained his senses, and unconsciously turned an eye to his concerned friend, only to be enamored by the sheer beauty of the sunlight casting a glisten off of the oceanic ornaments affixed in Roxas's eye sockets; the distraught confusion contorting the smooth skin on his flawless face only began to dizzy the abashed redhead. He could no longer hold Roxas's eye contact. "I-I'm sorry… nothing's wrong, Rox." The man obviously lied, his emerald eyes sharpening in a shocked sort of trepidation as he desperately focused his eye contact on that crack again, as to avoid Roxas's resplendent features. _

_The man's hand made its way to unconsciously wave the Key away, as to accede himself alone with his thoughts, but the boy couldn't take this newly distant Axel any longer; his arm swiftly darted out towards the wayward hand, gripping the wrist in a stubborn tight. He would not be shooed away. "Axel, you're gonna tell me what's wrong, and you're gonna say it now; ten words or less."_

_With a bite of the lip, the redheaded teen found he could no longer hide his problems away from Roxas. The golden-haired boy knew Axel's mannerisms too well for his own good. He could no longer stash away this nagging, sickening feeling he was experiencing now at the simple sight of his once-permissible friend. He drew in a sharp breath and broke his wrist free from the prison of the younger teen's pale hand, settling his own flushed hand on his kneecap, thought provoking silence in the man once more. He allowed himself to turn towards the concerned, yet radiant teen, although he disallowed himself to join Roxas's desperate eye contact, his own eyes set low as his head drooped, gazing fruitlessly at the mortar between the marble bricks. "Ten words or less, huh?" Without meeting the gaze of the angelic character before him, this is what the Flurry of Dancing Flames muttered. "Fine," Finally, after an eternity's wait, Axel's neck torturously lifted his eyesight off of the mortar between the marble bricks, his emerald eyes, now a soft kelly green, finally met Roxas's sharp, perturbed gaze; the man's heart was bewitched by the acute worry in the oceans of his eyes. His body no longer took orders from his mind; a cloaked hand entwined the back of Roxas's head, forcing him closer as Axel's lips parted and met the unsuspecting, plush lips of his beloved. _

_The primarily shocked teen now began to allow himself to melt into the form of the redhead, his body overwhelmed with pleasure and understanding. This is the feeling he had experienced the day before. This is why he forced himself onto Axel when he needed such comfort. This is why he tucked himself into the confides of the redhead's chest. It wasn't the mutual feeling of two friends… it was_ more. I love him. _And the moment those words made themselves clear to him, Roxas no longer fought against the boorish tempt of affection; he embraced it, wrapping his thin arms around the neckline of his now-beloved, moving his frigid lips along the warmth of Axel's, attempting to absorb as much heat as possible, now finally able to feel the ceaseless flame of passion that burned in his lover's heart, only a fragment warming his lips as they explored the territory of one-another—and this time, it was that of one the redheaded teen loved dearly. The heat of arousal began to die down in the two—sheer passion now tame—and Roxas nestled himself into the snug confides of Axel's chest, now sharing the territory with his special one. _

_"Alright Roxas, ten words or less: 'I think I'm in love with you.' " _

Mirroring Ventus's face, the younger blonde's eyes began to water. _Axel… the man in which words cannot describe my love for… he was always there. There, within my heart… even if I could not see it with my own eyes._ His hands cupped his face, the black fabric dampening in the effort to absorb the boy's tears. "Axel…" He muttered as reality struck him faster and more numbing than the sedative that lodged itself into Roxas's throat just—what was it?—five days ago. "…Axel? A-Axel!" He suddenly cried, startling the older light form. "Axel! _No_!" He rushed out to the fallen cloaked form—a form that he singlehandedly felled. "Axel…!" Roxas sobbed, unable to tell that man just how special he was to him. He couldn't even speak a word past the eighth Nobody's name in a desperate plea to wake him. The thirteenth Nobody repeated that same name as he shook it's owner frantically, unable to regain the miraculous consciousness that he deserved. _It's all my fault! It was my impetuous battling that made him fight me! If only I had just remembered… and now he's… he's… Oh Axel…!_ The boy threw himself onto Axel's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. "Don't leave me, Axel! Please! I only just remembered you again… Please don't leave my life now that I finally have you back in it! I love you, Axel!" His voice was now a low whisper, only audible to himself and his lost lover. "I love you…" The younger lover's tears quieted into a low weep, and he cursed himself inwardly for ruining his lost lover's coat.

His mild feelings towards Ventus changed rather quickly at this point; Roxas had lost the love of his life after having _just_ gained his memory back by that very Angel… and he was snickering like a hyena! The nerve of that man…! And yet, when the boy turned a furious eye towards the man, he found that Ventus was, in fact, not emitting the inexorable laughter; his eyes had fallen to tears and a shy smile was hidden by the man's fist. The laughter… heaved Axel's chest awkwardly as Roxas's head lay about it, and the boy stared wordlessly at the chuckling face. "How many times do I have to tell you? If I died, Roxas, I'd flake away, or burn up, or darkness would overcome me and take me on a one-way trip to oblivion." An eyelid flicked open to reveal the gleaming emerald crystal underneath. "In other words, I'd fade in some way… if I was dead, of course." A cloaked finger tapped his temple. "Got it memorized?"

"Axel!" Roxas cried, overcome, throwing his arms around the man and further sobbing into his chest. "Axel, I'm so sorry! I never meant—"

The older male hushed him soothingly. "I know, Rox, I know. So what if you nearly killed me? You didn't, didn't you?" An ebony hand pinched the boy's chin, raising his ocean blue eyes to meet the man's crystalline emerald. His thumb gently brushed away a stray tear. "Something deep within you stopped you. The same thing that you realize now: deep inside, you still loved me. The memories we shared never disappeared. And it's because of that that we're here now, huh?" He chuckled once more. "You're cute when you're panicking, for the record." Axel pressed his forehead to his lover's, and soon brought their lips together, reigniting the passion that had been previously lost to them only a few moments ago; rekindling the bond shared between two who, despite the obvious fact disproving this, cannot feel. Roxas's lips found it difficult to mold to Axel's, his tears becoming nearly crippling; however, deep within him—such a place being Ventus's heart—he knew this was right. This was Love—the love that such Nobodies cannot feel, and in doing so he was doing the impossible, and, for once, he was content with disobeying his superiors. Axel finally pulled away from his beloved, a hand entwining the back of Roxas's neck and easing him onto the eighth's chest.

As the two finally rose, the redhead found his familiar silvery-locked friend as he brushed off whatever dust may have accumulated on his cloak from his fall. The teen smirked. "I can only hope he's not toying with your trust, Axel." The illusionist turned an eye towards the golden blonde, his metallic eyes now soft, as the youngest male settled himself along his lover's arm. "Glad to finally have you back, Roxas."

From only Roxas's eyes, Ventus's appearance changed back to that of Roxas's age. "I suppose I'll show up to this party later." His voice soon became grave, though his appearance did not change. "After all, you have a task at hand."

His finger hovered out to point out two things: one was the form of Marluxia rushing out from the tram common towards the three figures, shouting, "They're here! We have to get ready, they're here, and there's no turning back now!"

And the second subject was 'they,' meaning the two conspiring superiors, Xemnas himself, and the mastermind behind the whole operation, Saïx. Ethereal Blades, Interdiction, and Claymore, Lunatic, at the ready, Saïx's face infuriated at the sight of his creation nestling himself into Axel's chest. The Diviner stood there, his face aghast. "H-How… is this possible?!" He cried.

Marluxia made his way to his friends' side, his Graceful Dahlia at the ready. "They're already furious, but I assume that's obvious by now." He smirked. "We'll take care of Xemnas for you, Axel. You and Roxas should focus on Saïx."

"And why's that?!" Axel cried, Marluxia's astounding logic now sounding completely insane. If Xemnas was _the_ Superior, why should _they_ have to fight them? If anything, it should be Axel and Marluxia, not Marluxia and Zexion. "That's suicide!"

"Look, Axel, since the Keyblade Master found to leave us alone, Xemnas has not tried to train himself in any sort of way, feeling he has not a need to. He's slacking, in other words." Zexion informed. "Now Saïx is a different story, and I feel that the vengeance is rightfully so to you as Lea, no?"

Axel growled, the fire of his anger rekindling from the reality of the situation: it was Saïx's doing that Roxas was the truly heartless zombie-of-a-boy that nearly killed everything important to him. It was his doing that banished all who were important to the boy. It was his doing that Axel's own lover was transformed into a monster, all because he was in love with the man. Every challenge that fell before him those past four days were from the hands of a man he once considered his best friend. "Isa, I'm disappointed in you." Embers soon burst into the ardent blazes that created Axel's Eternal Flames, his grip poising one to point towards his ex-best friend. Light pillars shone down from the setting skies, flicking away to reveal Roxas's faithful Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion; it was hard for the Flurry of Dancing Flames to believe that such weapons, now prepared for the correct enemy, were nearly used to take his own life. Nonetheless, he went on to explain the source of his disappointment. "You were once a person that I told my deepest secrets to. You were the one that'd call me a damned fool when I'd whistle at a cute girl." He noticed the face of Roxas, his very male now-lover, mirrored a tad bit of confusion, and found it was rather cute. "You were the one that kept me down-to-earth. And now… for whatever reason you're doing it—and I'm guessing it's because you're so eager to gain a heart of your own—that you'd snoop on your best friend and… and destroy him the way you did." Saïx's face wavered a bit from its stern form. "You were my best friend, Isa, but since you lost your heart… it's as if you lost sight of everything we once had."

The cerulean-haired Diviner shook his head. "Lea, that wasn't what I was intending at all. I'll admit, I wasn't looking at our friendship during the course of the Organization XIII, but that was simply because I was taking my sights off of it for but a moment. Once we were to get our hearts, I was going to ensure that our friendship be rekindled, as it always has been as Isa and Lea." He explained rather calmly with a hint of… pain? in his voice. "I knew just how close we truly were to achieving it… and that… that _boy _had to lollygag and ruin everything!" His fangs bared as his cold, hostile expression turned towards the Key of Destiny.

The golden blonde was quieted by the match of wits between the two friends. He had no place in their argument, and yet he seemed to be the center of it all; he confided himself along Axel's arm. The redhead continued his 'match of wits.' "We were on the steady road to achieving it! It was in your anxiety and impatience that made you lose sight of what was really important here. We were on our way, but all you could think of was how much we still needed and because you felt that Roxas needed to step up, am I right so far?" Saïx turned his expression away. From this response, Axel continued. "But you instead found him with me through a certain silvery spy. It's either because Roxas wasn't working or because you were shocked and paranoid that he was feeling that you decided you'd change him. I'm not even sure if you cared that I'd be hurt by this. Perhaps you did: the three-week-long mission being a pang of pity that I'd lose the single-most important thing to me, or perhaps you didn't: you had to shoo me away, along with everyone who was either important to Roxas or who would try to stand in your way—again, I mention a certain silvery spy—in order to solidify a place and time that you could change him." The redhead's fiery voice grew cold. "Am I right?"

The Diviner grew quiet for a long while, his gaze turning slightly towards his Superior, locked in combat with the Graceful Assassin and Cloaked Schemer. "…Yes," He muttered after much silence. "You're right, Lea. Spot on, in fact."

Axel wasted no time to rub the salt into the wound. "But you forgot one fatal thing, Isa." The older male's expression grew in surprise, his orange eyes darting towards his friend's crystalline emeralds. "You didn't understand the power of true love, as sappy as that sounds." He tapped his index to his forehead. "Got it memorized, Saïx?"

"True love isn't sappy, Axel…" The redhead could hear his lover protest quietly, perhaps due to his discomfort with the two's arguing.

A low growl emitted from the Diviner's throat. "You…" His Claymore crashed against the ground and was drawn at the ready, his orange eyes glaring at the thirteenth Nobody. "This is all… because of you!" Weapon poised, the seventh Nobody charged towards the younger golden blonde.

"Axel…" Roxas muttered out in concern; they had only regained each other moments ago… what if this man were to tear it apart once more…? He lowered himself at the ready, but found his lover's position reposed.

"Roxas, nothing bad is going to happen." A small smirk smoothed across his face. "We have something he'll never have. We have… each other." The redhead turned to his younger partner, his emerald eyes locking with the boy's oceans. "So c'mon," Fire erupted from his Chakrams, twirling one in his hand. "Let's put on one hell of a show!" The older male's fire scorched along the cobblestone ground below them, flames surging around the hostile, cerulean-haired once-friend. The man dodged swiftly as Axel whispered to a paralyzed Roxas. "You know what fire and light makes, right sweetheart?"

"Um…" Roxas muttered, his ocean eyes locked on the Diviner, now reverting into his Berserk form before them. "Bright… fire…?"

The older male chuckled, his emerald eyes shining from the blazing sea before them. "Look out in the distance, Roxas; focus. What do you see?"

The eldest male charged wildly at the two, his Claymore swinging through the air wildly, as the boy panicked. "I don't know, Axel! All I see is the sunset!" He cried.

"Exactly so." His smirk evolved into a grin. "Your light shines as bright and brief as the setting sun but with my fire…" The older male's intentions finally reached the mind of the younger's; Axel affirmed his plan with the boy when his eyes shone. Meanwhile, the Diviner's Claymore made its way towards its owner's ex-best friend. The redhead, showing his calm attitude as he did in the fight before, blocked off the cerulean-locked man's weapon with ease. He shied his way from the manic Diviner, escaping to his lover's side. "You ready?" The redhead grinned, glancing at the determined look sketched across the younger lover's face.

"As you are," Roxas signaled, transforming Oathkeeper and Oblivion into Two Become One. The two grasped each other's hand, pointing their weapons at the oncoming Diviner. From Axel's ardent fire and Roxas's setting light came a mass that stood between the raging man and the two lovers: a sun; as bright as the light and as passionate as fire of their bond. "No matter how stupid this idea may be," Roxas muttered, turning his bright face towards that of his lover's; the pale skin glowed radiantly from the mass of fire before him. "I will always love you, Axel."

As the sun finished its growth, the redhead locked his lips with the golden blonde for but a moment, whispering, "I love you too, sweetheart." He turned towards the celestial blaze before him. "Now let's end this." From the two's weapons, the shining sun launched itself at the Luna Diviner, becoming fully consumed in its sheer fiery mass, erupting into an explosion held by a controlled barrier of light as the scarred Nobody fell. The barrier faded as the disappointed form of Axel knelt down by his fallen once-friend. "It's one thing to want a heart. It's another to try to turn your best friend's boyfriend into a zombie to get it."

Saïx groaned, unable to stand and therefore unable to pose a rebuttal. "You…" Was all the eldest male could muster before collapsing onto the cobblestone floor.

Axel sighed, "Isa… if only we could've been friends again. But I'm not gonna mope over the past. You… You've changed, and that's the last that I'm going to say." Moonlight soon surrounded the scarred Nobody, and he faded away with the stars.

"Is Saïx… dead?" Roxas muttered, staring up towards the skies as the stardust faded towards the setting sun.

"I'm not too terribly sure. But wherever he is, he deserves it, that's for sure." Axel turned towards the other two brawling friends. "They done yet?" Just as these words escaped the redhead's lips, Roxas turned his pale face, glistening from the smolders before him, and found the Superior collapse, saying harsh, incoherent words to the two, then fade into the shadows. Roxas shuddered as his older lover's hand entwined with his. The eighth Nobody chuckled. "It's all over, Rox." He leaned in, kissing the boy on his forehead. "It's all over," His lips moved down the boy's nose and onto his soft pink lips, molding onto them. The finality of it reached him: he could finally be with the one he loved without scrutiny. This fact fueled his passion, combined with the fact that he had finally had his lover back, after almost all hope had been lost.

After the two drew away, their eyes met the other pair; Zexion threw himself into the nestles of Marluxia's chest, tears cascading down his face as his lips met his graceful lover's, bringing a warm feeling inside of the youngest male. The silvery-locked teen finally drew away from his beloved, turning towards his other two friends. "I… assume that you've beaten him?" He sniffled, a warm smile abnormal to Zexion curling slightly on his lips. His body language was very sheepish.

"That we did." The golden blonde rested his head on the man's arm, not quite tall enough to reach his shoulder when standing. "Looks like it wasn't so bad for you, either."

"He panicked," Marluxia explained, a hand brushing through is lover's messy silver locks. "Xemnas realized just how weak he had become and he, too, did not seem to understand the power of love. He was shocked that we loved each other as well."

"And you have me to thank, don'tcha?" Roxas blurted in a rather bubbly tone—far too bubbly for the Key—bouncing slightly as his eyes closed from his wide grin. He giggled childishly.

Axel retracted from this 'Roxas.' "R-Roxas…?" He observed the teen, and found he was no different despite his drastically changed personality. "That's… you?"

"Nope!" He grinned, still bouncing to what Axel felt was rather obnoxiously. "I suppose you want an explanation huh, Lea?" He waggled a finger in front of the man. "I've met you once before. Oh, and you too, Ienzo." The newly enigmatic figure turned to Marluxia. "I don't know too much about you… you're Lumaria, right? Ienzo worked at your garden for a little bit, I think."

The three other men stood, baffled. Who exactly was this boy that was not Roxas? Axel seemed to be the only one whose throat worked at the time. "If you're not… Roxas, then who are you?"

"Oh?" The golden blonde examined himself, realizing he was in another's body. "Oops, sorry! Suppose I should get outta poor Roxas here. He's never done anything quite like this." Roxas recoiled, dazed, then a light emerged from his chest, much like a star, and flashed into the form of… Roxas? The boy looked very similar to Roxas, except for a number of subtle differences; rather than two jackets, one black and one white, the boy wore a turtle-necked black shirt with a black-and-white jacket, a sort of seal over it, and a silver-and-gold jacket underneath. He wore a plate of armor on his left shoulder and abdomen, as well as armored shoes. He wore a wristband similar to Roxas's sweatband, and black and white shorts, as opposed to Roxas's jeans. Despite these differences, his appearance was greatly similar to the Nobody's casual clothes. Atop that, the boy's face looked exactly the same as Roxas's; there was simply no difference. "Hi, I'm Ventus."

"Ventus," Roxas quietly scolded the immature figure.

This shocked the Flurry of Dancing Flames. "Y—?! You know this guy?!"

"Of course. Now try to be more presentable, please, Ven?" He smiled warmly as the luminescent doppelgänger.

"I suppose; after all, look's like I'm really freaking out your beau." Axel twitched slightly in response._ A 'beau?' What the hell is a beau?! _The glowing figure illuminated in a blinding light once more, a sort of mist surrounding him and, as it faded, the man appeared much older, that of about a mid-thirties. "That better?"

Axel heaved a sigh of relief. The man no longer looked exactly like his lover and yet… he looked like a mirror to the future; the redhead could imagine this man being Roxas in the future, which begged a question, yet his throat could not produce it. Roxas beamed at the eldest male. "I always liked you better like this. But… how do you know these guys like this?"

"Simple, isn't it? I knew them from when they were somebodies. They were so little, and so was I. But as they were turned into Nobodies, they stopped aging. I didn't have that option. I continued my life for much longer than they, and I had two wonderful children before my heart was taken from me. And it… found its way to my beloved son."

Roxas froze. "Wh… What…?" This whisper was the only noise to lift the curse of silence. "I… n-no… that isn't possible…"

The golden blonde father smiled warmly at his worried child. "Roxas… when I found you as a fragmented heart, where did you live?"

"Des…tiny… Islands…" The boy fell to his knees, inundated. He had just regained the memories of his lover, but was now facing a new reality unknown to him even before his memory loss.

The man nodded, placing a warm hand upon his son's shoulder. "And what was your name?"

"Aros… Sk—" He choked upon the last word, unable to quell the upwelling of tears that crippled him. "I wasn't… Sora…! I was Aros Skye… and you're… you're…!"

"Ventus Skye," The father brought his son onto his feet. "Your father. I told you this information when you had lost your memory, but apparently, you don't remember any of the actions you did, until that fight with Axel and Zexion. I'd bet you didn't even know your objective here."

"I don't…" Roxas admitted weakly, wrapping his arms around his father, sobbing into his shirt. "Doesn't that mean…?"

Ventus smoothed through the younger blonde's golden hair. "It does. Sora is your brother. Of course… he looked much different until he was four…" He muttered, where Roxas was unable to hear him. "But at least he looks like his mother."

The overflowing oceans of the younger male's eyes gazed up upon the elder blonde. "I… I have so many questions…! Who's our mother?" Ventus's eyes grew sad. "She's… dead, isn't she?"

"Your brother could tell you a million tales of his mother. See, I keep myself in contact with him as well. I… managed a way… through the man that took my heart…" Ventus trailed at the last bit. "See, I'm kinda connected to him now, but that's beside the point." Roxas, unhearing of the last bit, believed that Ventus was connected to Sora. "She died when there was the attack upon Destiny Islands."

"Oh…" Was the only response that Roxas could muster. "Do you want me to be called Aros now? 'Cause I can, if you want…"

" 'Aros,' jeez…" Axel muttered. "Very creative to give palindrome names to your kids."

"That's alright. I'll call you whatever you'd like." The man smiled.

It was here that the redhead had a revelation. "It's… because of you." He whispered.

"How do you mean?" Ventus asked calmly, his eyes still bright and warm.

There was just something so starkly… _different_ about Ventus. He… would never replace Roxas, no matter how similarly he looked. _He's his father, damnit! I'm not gonna be pimped by a man who can make himself look Roxas's age! And plus… he's annoying when he's a teenager._ "It's because of you… that Roxas and I… love each other…" A small, appreciative smile stretched across his fair face. "It's because of you Roxas could escape the fog he was in…"

Ventus closed his eyes, shaking his head. "No, Axel, that's not it at all. I don't believe that Nobodies cannot feel. I believe that that's what the Superiors made you believe. Certain mannerisms can't be shooed off as 'unfeeling,' such as Arlene's rather batty personality carrying over to Larxene. Feelings will always prevail, and the love that you two shared was the end product. When you're somebodies, it just means that it's not as muted, in my mind. What you two couples have was a special bond that everyone deserves to have. It's because of that, Axel, that Roxas was able to be freed of the fog he was under."

Roxas softly nuzzled his older partner. His cloaked hands took Axel's cheeks, bringing the two's lips together once more. A single tear left each of their eyes. Tears which meant love. Love which meant feeling. Feeling which meant just how close they were to accomplishing their quest. "It's because I love you."

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**A/N: **Pretty much, this could be it. There's gonna be an epilogue chapter, so this could very well be considered it. I'll just post them both up today.

**So, how did I do? Leave me a review saying whatever you want—good stuff, bad stuff, grammar stuff... all the works! :)**


	14. Epilogue: Somebodies

**NOTICE!** Axel's journal, being the main character, will occupy the time's placeholder, so that the reader is aware of how much time has passed. His journal will not have any entries. Contrastingly, when the story shows another character's journal entry date, there will be a journal entry following immediately afterwards in _italics_.

**A/N: **We've come a long way to get to where we are now. I'd like to thank all of the loyal viewers/reviewers who kept this story going. It's all thanks to you~!

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**Epilogue: Somebodies**

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_Axel's New Journal: Day 036 (Journal Day 1208)_

_Roxas's New Journal: Day 036 (Journal Day 895)_

_This is exactly like how I'd dreamed it would be. Sure, I'm not entirely used to having one-and-a-half hearts, but apparently having one of my own doesn't necessarily mean that Ventus gets one, too. Apparently, when the time's about to come, I'll have to make a trip to Radiant Garden, where Ventus's two friends live. They're a married couple (how cute!) and the mother and father of Kairi (I can only wonder who Riku's parents are…). The mother, Aqua, apparently knows how to find Ventus's sleeping body._

_Beside the point! Axel and I are living marvelously together now. I finally got a job last week. …It's weird, though, being 'normal.' I have to do one single job for a long time and Axel keeps complaining about the décor… it's going to be a tough thing to get used to. Axel and I are going to meet up with Zexion and Marluxia at the ice cream parlor to finally meet up with our long-lost friend… Axel says he thinks it's a rather good thing that 'she happened to miss all the action.' That face… I know her face, and it's been nagging me. Axel says that once I see her, 'it'll all come flooding back.' I hope it doesn't hurt like when Ventus showed me my memories of Axel… I'm a bit nervous to find out who she is… I don't exactly know why._

_Roxas_

I approached the outside table, my two other friends occupying two out of the six chairs. Axel chivalrously slid the iron chair for me, then slid it back in place once I sat. Marluxia and Zexion were sharing a chocolate and vanilla sundae together when the teen asked, "You excited for this surprise guest?"

I winced slightly, I won't lie; as sad as it is, the only other woman I could remember besides that ebony-haired girl was Larxene. If all women happened to be like her, I'd be in for one hell of a day. Emphasis on _'hell.' _I groaned as I responded, "I'm about as excited as I was on the first day of school… on my junior year… and I never even went to Kindergarten."

He chuckled at this warmly. Since we got our hearts, I have to say that Zexion became an all-around warmer person, albeit his eloquence still confuses me. "Be that as it may, _Aros_ went to school until his sophomore year. Roxas is simply here to pick up the pieces, no?"

Axel returned to us from his apparent absence with a sea salt hot fudge sundae. "I told myself I was gonna get it, and I got it." He snickered. I didn't get it; it was probably some sort of inside joke I was on the outs about. I reached out to one of the spoons, but he retracted that leather-bound hand, setting the sundae down and waggling the now-frigid finger in front of my nose. "Nuh-uh-uh. Not without a kiss."

I scoffed. "What'm I, you're dog?" But then I thought about it… _Why would I _want_ to deny this?_ "…Fine," And I gave him an unappreciative, quick peck on his cheek. He opened his mouth to protest, but I answered before he could, "You said 'a kiss.' You never said where on that pretty face of yours." A sly smirk crept onto my face.

"Damned loopholes," He sighed and surrendered the spoon. "But I get the green one."

"Fine, I don't like the green one anyway." I replied curtly. "So… when's this 'surprise guest' coming?" I gulped.

Axel answered with his mouth full, and I'm sure it was to get back at me for being so snotty. "She's coming from the faraway land of Hollow Bastion. She should be here any minute and apologized thusly, 'Sorry if I end up late, dudes.' "

"So she's not a witch…" I muttered softly.

My hotheaded-sweet must have heard this, as he laughed outright, his green spoon still jammed in his mouth. " 'Course not! She's the coolest thing ever! She's like me… mixed with Demyx… no, that's a bad way to put it… she's… cool. She's a strong, lighthearted, independent sort of girl. She's not bad at all."

I was about to open my mouth to ask for a name, when I heard this from the north: "Helloooooo old friends of mine!" Was a very pretty voice in a cheerful, carefree manor. She held her ebony hair up in a small pony tail and bangs up in a clip with a star at the end of it. She wore a forest green sort of baseball cap that wasn't quiet a baseball cap (called a Polo-cap, I believe?), and lightly wore some magenta eye-shadow on, magenta lip-gloss and a forest green star that appeared to be a makeup sticker on her cheek. She wore a denim jacket that had full sleeves, but the body only went halfway, a forest green shirt underneath with three magenta stars on it. Under that, she wore flowing denim jeans over a sort of forest green, low heels. Her nails were magenta and her earrings were magenta four-pointed stars (much like mine, but mine are smaller and silver). Her azure eyes shone brightly as she took a seat, crossing her legs. "I heard _way_ too much about you guys, so you'll have to fill me in."

The girl… she was so pretty… and I _knew_ that I'd seen her before (albeit in an Organization cloak and not nearly as much bi-colored themed makeup). I just needed a name. "You're… I can't… I'm so sorry…"

"Aw, what?" She pouted jokingly. "And here I thought Axel said that you got _all_ your memory back!" Axel leaned in an whispered something to her, and her expression changed into that of understanding. "Ah… I see. Looks like that whole resurrection thing ended up taking up its end of the bargain, huh? Well," She extended a hand, and here I was able to notice her rings: one was forest green, the other, magenta, of course. They were on the same fingers as my bands, the middle and ring. "Hiya, I'm Xion. I went by Oni in Hollow Bastion."

_Xion…_ It was here that the memories flowed back to me and yes, lamentably, along with the throbbing pain. I laid my head down on the meshed iron table and groaned, holding back my cries. My… My _best friend_ didn't need to see me remember her like this. All this time, I had considered Zexion my best friend next to Axel, of course (but he says that doesn't count), but it was, in fact, _her… _"Xion… Starr," I muttered, a tear falling down my face as the pain finally faded.

"Hey, don't cry, Roxy! I know you killed me and all, but that's the past! This is now! Now that we have our hearts, we can go on a dozen adventures together!" She beamed, a thin hand on my shoulder.

"I'd forgotten my best friend…" A tear still trickled down my eye despite her kind suggestion.

Axel wrapped an arm around me, brushing the tear away affectionately. "Well you remember her now, right? Now that you do, she said she'd move into Twilight Town. After all, Hollow Bastion was a hideout."

"Why's that?" Was the only thing I could think to ask. I couldn't look at her; my best friend and I didn't even remember her until now? But it was as Axel said: I'd have to get over it; the past is behind me.

Xion stalled, scratching a hand behind her ponytail. "Eh… it was bad times there. Gangs like to hang out in that place and I… didn't manage to get that good of a place to stay, since I was there on a need-to-be basis, y'know?"

"That's alright," I smiled sincerely. "It's the past. It was all in the past. …Xion, I can't believe I'd see you again!" I wrapped my arms around her with a squeeze. I hadn't realized it had been over a year. "Jeez, how's it been?"

"I… was gonna ask you the same thing." She crossed her arms, a sly smile on her face. "Y'know… about the two of you."

Axel offered her a place between he and I, and excused himself a moment to get her a sea salt ice cream. When he returned, he explained, "Naw, that's alright. There's not a problem with that. Isn't that right," He bent himself back in his chair so that his emeralds could meet my oceans. "Roxas?"

"Suppose so," I smiled. If she honestly thought we were going to try to be secretive about this, there was certainly another thing coming her way. "But would you care to explain? I'm not too terribly good at reminiscing."

Xion bent her arm onto the table and rested her hand upon her cheek. "Well, I'm all ears. If what Demy's been saying is true, I'll get a field day outta this one."

"Good Lord! _Demyx_ told you?!" Axel chuckled. "Well, looks like I'm gonna have to dispel some rumors, huh?" He cleared his throat. "Well then… Roxas and I are dating."

She turned her view between the both of us. "Then why'm I here between you two? Axel, switch seats with me!" The ebony-locked friend demanded. "Don't wanna get between a man and his man!" She quickly shifted her seat with Axel's. "So, Hot Tamale, what's you two's story?"

Axel knit his eyebrows. "Hot Tama…? Oh, never mind. Well, since you left, Roxas had become much less independent, you could say. He withdrew quite a bit. And, y'know, since you were gone, _I_ was the only one really there for him." He pulled my body close to his chest, and I rested my head on his shoulder. "Then, I dunno, I just felt _something_ for him that I hadn't before."

"Then there was a domino effect." I added with a smile.

"That's cool," She smiled. "So… how long have you two been kissy-kissy, Axel?" She snickered.

"Almost a year and a half, thank you, Miss Smart-Ass." Axel sneered. "And by the way, Zexion and Marluxia have themselves a little something going on, too. And Dem and Xiggy." He added.

"Aw! How cute!" She smiled, playing with one of her rings. "And I knew about Dem and Xiggy. I saw them and got some pretty bad rumors from them, but I hadn't heard anything about Zex and Mar-Mar! Congratu-frikken-lations!" She smiled at them.

"Um… hate to change the subject, but why do we still have our Organization names? They feel so… binding. And yet so normal."

Axel brushed a gloved hand through my hair. "And that's why. Because that's what's normal. That's what we feel is normal. The trials and the tribulations that we've faced as Axel and Roxas… we can't part with that. And tell me, who did Axel fall in love with?" He answered himself before I could. "He fell in love with a Mr. Roxas Skye. I don't know how you were as Aros, but… it was Axel who fell in love with you, Roxas. That—and this is a personal vendetta—and the fact that Lea just feels bound to Isa. It just feels kinda like salt in a wound I can't heal. As for the others, I don't really know. Thoughts, boys?" He turned towards the other two, who had not quite finished their sundae.

Zexion wadded up a napkin and wiped a stain from Marluxia's lips as he responded, "Thoughts on what? I didn't quite catch that."

"Why we still keep our Organization names?" Axel mirrored Xion's position, resting a hand upon his cheek, awaiting a response from his friend expectantly.

"That's the mark of our friendship, what else?" He brandished his hand whilst shaking his head, his silvery locks flicking to expose his other eye for a moment. "Although Ienzo fell in love with Lumaria, Ienzo did not make friends with Lea, Aros and… Oni, was it? The same goes for you three. Lea, Aros and Oni were not those who became friends, were they?" He readjusted his glasses. "That is why our Organization names are so important. They represent the struggle that friends withstood to be able to get to this point now, thirty-six days later. Our adventures… the memories that we share now… they didn't end when we gained our hearts, did they? The friends that Axel made, Zexion and Marluxia, they did not fade upon gaining hearts."

"Yeah… they just changed their names…" I couldn't help but let slip this mutter.

"Look, Rox, it's symbolic, alright?" Axel's hot breath ghosted into my ear. "Get it memorized."

"Yeah, yeah…" I swatted at his nose so that he'd get his face away from mine; he was just too close. "Uh… Xion, what grade are you in?"

"Oh yah! I didn't know you guy's grades, so might as well have a pass-around of that, huh?" She grinned. "I'm in the same grade as you, buddy. I'm a junior."

"Upper sophomore," Axel admitted.

"Upper freshman," Zexion answered, readjusting his glasses once more. Jeez, who'd want glasses that don't stay? "Who could forget how Demyx reacted to that?" He snickered.

Axel imitated him. " 'Jeez, Zex! How the _hell _could you be in a higher grade than me?! You're a year younger!' To which you replied thusly," He imitated Zexion's voice as a boring sort of monotone. " 'Well, if you'd study harder, perhaps you wouldn't be the failure that you are.' " He snickered.

"I said no such thing!" Zexion snapped. "He _is_ on grade level, after all. I just happen to be gifted."

"What's that?" I was confused. "If that's the case… Zexion? You flunked? Twice?!" I was shocked at this.

"No, no. High schools and community colleges are a joint project now, Roxas. Virtually, I'm in the first year of college, or the thirteenth grade."

"Ouch… sounds painful." I groaned. "What about you, Marluxia?"

He finally looked up from his sundae. "Who, me? I've graduated." He stated simply, then returned to his ice cream. "So, Roxas, I heard you've gotten yourself some work? Where would that be?"

"Um, the ice cream parlor?" I pointed my thumb behind me, admitting this with a sheepish sort of smile. "May I ask how all of you are in your work?"

"I work as a bagger at Publix!" Xion admitted with a grin, her hand proudly on her hips. "Jeez, it's just to get some extra money in my pocket."

I was really hoping for a response from Axel; his work… he never mentioned it to me. Not once. I'm a bit worried that it has to do with something he really hates… like wood-chipping, or something. Just as my glare forced his mouth to open, large gloved hands hid my eyes. "Guess who," He snickered.

"Sora, lay off." I groaned before hearing a squeak. Xion rushed up excitedly towards Riku, giving him a peck on his lips. They were… dating? "What's up?"

He threw his hands behind his head. "Jeez, I can't ask how my little brother and dad are doing?" A playful pout was on his face. Kairi, Sora's girlfriend, proceeded to talk to her best guy and girl friends, the now-known couple. "How's things been moving in with Axel?"

"It's all fine. How's things been accepting Kairi into your house?"

"Also fine, Xion and Riku aren't living together, though, since she's moving away." Sora glanced quickly at his silvery-locked best friend. "He's fine with that, though."

"Well, Riku just doesn't seem like the kind of person that would cry, y'know?" I smiled; it wasn't too terribly often that I saw my brother. He, his girlfriend and Riku all lived in where Xion previously lived: Hollow Bastion.

"Well, Roxas, I'll ask how dad's doing, then I'll leave you alone. It's not a far drive from here to home, y'know?"

"Dad's fine. He said to give it another year, then we'll be having him back in no time." Sora's face lit up with this. He remembered our father, Ventus, but he and I never saw eye-to-eye until after the fact. He said he'd do more than anything to get Ventus back, and was frankly jealous of the fact that he lived within me. "So, did you find those two that dad told you to look for—what were their names?—Aqua and Terra?"

"Well, let me just say I had to meet Kairi's parents before I could take her home." He grinned, albeit it hid a bit of sheepishness. "Her dad isn't someone to be trifled with, I'll tell you that much."

"Alright," I rose, giving my older brother a tight squeeze. "I'll be seeing you then, big brother."

"Gotcha, Kairi! Riku, we gotta go now."

Kairi escaped by Sora's side after a hug from Xion, and Riku bid farewell after a quick kiss. "See you around when school starts, On—Xion." Riku quickly corrected before departing.

"Strange they didn't breathe a word to us." Axel muttered with a slight chuckle on behalf of Zexion, Marluxia and himself. "Sora didn't even give me any death threats this time, how nice."

"He's still edgy about you, Axel, I can tell that much. As for you two… they're still uncomfortable with you guys."

"Ah…" Axel nodded. "So, speaking of which, how are the others of the Organization doing thus far?"

"Oh, I remember writing about that in my journal!" I grinned, fishing it out from the backpack I'd brought. "Alright, I'll read it just as it is:

_"No. I Xemnas, name: Xehanort Masen. His whereabouts are currently unknown. He's rumored to live in the remains of the Castle that Never Was. _

_"No. II Xigbar, name: Braig Jupiter. He's currently working as a professional sharpshooter. Demyx lives with him while he doesn't have a home for college. His job involves Axel's somehow. _

_"No. III Xaldin, name: Dilan Tempest. Now goes by Dilan. He's reunited with his lost wife and daughter, Aron."_

Axel cut me in. "Daughter? Aron, spelled A-R-O-N is a boy's name. E-R-I-N is a girl's. Dilan has a son."

I grumbled. "Well, jeez, Mr. Bossy. Now let me continue._ Now lives with them. Demyx and Xigbar are proud to be the godparents._

_"No. IV Vexen, name: Even Frost. Currently residing in an insane asylum." _Axel couldn't help but chuckle darkly at this.

_"No. V Lexaeus, name: Aeleus Stone. He works with Axel somehow, yet lives a quiet life with his adoptive son, Zexion. _

_"No. VII Saïx, name: Isa LaLune. Whereabouts unknown after his defeat. His fading did not imply death, but it wouldn't matter if he did or not. _

_"No. IX Demyx, name: Myde Ocean. A lazy student, but still somehow successful. He is now a godparent to Dilan's son, and very proud of it. Still trying to best Axel." _Again, Axel chuckled.

_"No. X Luxord, name: Rudol Goldsworth. The gambling kingpin. Works with Axel somehow. Rumored he has lost big time, but this can't be true, can it?_

_"No. XII Larxene, name: Arlene (née) Foudre. Married now, unknown to who. Goes by her original name as Arlene. Now works as a model. _

_"No. XIV Xion, name: Oni (No. I) Starr. A new girl at my school." _I couldn't help but glance at her._ "I remembered her from our first 358 days. She's a really cool, independent, devil-may-care type of girl. …No wonder we're such close friends; she rounds out the corners of our duo. I killed her once, but she didn't seem to mind and the whole memory loss situation went right over her head. When she was resurrected, she went to Hollow Bastion to await when we got our hearts._

_"No. XI Marluxia, name: Lumaria Iris. Recreated his old joint garden with Zexion, and owns a flower shop. He is a proud gardener to his work._

_"No. VI Zexion, name: Ienzo Black. Lives with his adoptive father, Lexaeus, yet goes by his original last name, Black. Happily coupled to Marluxia, and works in their new flower shop, part time as a librarian. A successful student. He must be very busy._

_"No. VIII Axel, name: Lea Cole. Still to this day, I don't know what he works for, and yet he managed to buy us a mansion. He's planning to engage me once I graduate high school." _His face turned as red as his hair once I'd said this.

_"No. XIII Roxas, name: Aros Skye. A successful, yet none too perfect, junior in high school. I have since reunited with my lost brother, Sora, and connected with his girlfriend Kairi, and best friend Riku (yes, the same boy from Destiny Islands. I could hardly recognize him without his blindfold). He happens to be the Keyblade Master I was supposed to destroy (go figure). I work at my favorite ice cream parlor, but Axel says it isn't necessary, as he singlehandedly got us a mansion. Here at our new home, I am very happy and I can honestly say, I couldn't be happier._

Axel smiled sweetly. "Aw… how cute, Roxas." He took his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close. He kissed me on my temple, then on my lips as I turned towards him. I smiled as he pressed his forehead to mine when we pulled away.

I chuckled sinisterly. "I've got a couple questions for you, but I love you, Axel."

Stars twinkled in the empty sixth chair, and Ventus appeared in the age of my father. His fingers were intertwined within one another, smiling. His ocean eyes were warm as he gave a silent signal that everything was alright. It was true though. Everything _was_ alright. Surrounded by my best friends… without the troubles that we've had to constantly face… it had all come to pass. "I love you too, sweetheart." He pulled away, tapping an index to his forehead. "You've gotten that memorized, haven't you?"

* * *

**A/N: **Don't make fun of me for the Organization XIII's regular names. Please, I don't want to be scrutinized this late in the game for that.

*Sigh* To Xion or not to Xion? Sorry that I didn't introduce her earlier. My brother convinced me that she was terrible, and I believed it, but I replayed 358/2 Days and realized she's really cool.

Well, that's all folks.

**The End.**


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